


The Secret of Arias

by SelVecantie (LilianHalcombe)



Category: Babylon 5, Babylon 5 & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-21
Updated: 2014-09-23
Packaged: 2018-02-18 06:11:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 173,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2338046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilianHalcombe/pseuds/SelVecantie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Vorlons wanted a weapon to fight the Shadows, but even they could not imagine the terrible being they would create. Fearing for their very existence, they trapped the creature on a distant world, imprisoned for all time. However, even the Vorlons couldn't predict the arrival of an IPX survey vessel from Earth. Now the explorers have gone missing and the Rasputin and her crew have been dispatched to look for them. There, on a dying world, they discover that there are some things in the universe that even the First Ones are afraid of.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the second of my Babylon 5 stories which I will be uploading this slowly over the next week or two as I double check it for mistakes and make some minor amendments.
> 
> To keep up with updates of this story and others I will be posting in the future follow me on Tumblr @ http://lilianhalcombe.tumblr.com/

PROLOGUE

 

* * *

 

**1462, Unclaimed Space.**

A little over two hundred years ago chaos had reigned throughout this tiny portion of the galaxy. Two ancient powers, who had fought on and off for untold millennia, had risen from their slumber to once more to do battle. As always they did not seek to destroy each other, but rather their war was one of competing ideology as they each sought to guide the younger races down the path they believed to be correct. Now, the war over, but knowing it would resume again soon one of those races had ventured out in secret to create powerful servants to fight for it in the next war.

Above a primitive blue-green world, two massive Vorlon ships hung in space, appearing to the inhabitants of that world as little more than small, but bright, stars. The people of this primitive world were very susceptible to superstition and omen and the sudden appearance of the new stars had been taken as a sign that their gods were smiling on them. Astrologers and soothsayers from two dozen empires gathered their star charts and made predictions of what was to come. On this small world, wars could be started for much less, and this time was no exception.

The Vorlons however, were oblivious to these happenings, they had more important problems. The larger of the two vessels, the gigantic research ship, was dying. Across much of its green hull, patches of darkness had appear, spreading like some horrible disease down the thick veins of energy that ran through the organic metal. In two places the hull had already buckled, exploding outwards as the metal crumbled and the pressure of the atmosphere inside broke through.

The smaller of the ships, a kilometre long battle cruiser hung back from the research ship, as if it feared catching the disease that had stricken its larger cousin. In the council chambers of the battle cruiser five Vorlons had gathered. Four were scientists who had, until recently, been stationed on board the research vessel, now force to flee in the face of their creation's fury. The last was an Elder, sent from the Vorlon homeworld to carry the wisdom of Vorlons from across the Empire.

The Elder faced off against the others, scientists who had conducted experiments on a creature taken from the world below, a creature they had raised from birth to serve as a warrior against their ancient enemy. Had the Elder been human, it would have sighed with disappointment. Instead, it could only sing its anger. "I warned you," it sang, the normally musical tones carrying an undercurrent of disapproval. "They are too primitive. You could never hope to control them, yet still you tried. In time they will serve, when they have outgrown their violent nature. But now they are not ready, and the council must deal with your mistake."

The other Vorlons bowed in submission, their pain visible in their glowing auras. "We will talk to the warrior," the leader of the scientists sang. "It must agree to reason. We will explain to it the reasons for our actions and convince it to follow the path of order once more. It will follow if we lead."

The Elder was not so sure. "You have created something that could destroy us all. Worse, you have betrayed the order you sought to serve. It will not talk, it can not sing with us, it will only destroy. You sought to defeat the darkness but you have created something worse instead, a creature that does not feel remorse for the deaths it causes. This one will not serve our cause, only defeat it."

"What must we do," the scientists sang sadly.

The Elder considered the problem. "Soon it will tire of its rage and wish to return to the world below, and if we do not agree to its demands, it will come to end our existence. If we return it to the planet, then it will cause destruction unlike anything ever seen there before. It knows many things its kind were never meant to know. If returned, it will use this knowledge to advance its people far beyond what can be allowed, far beyond what we wish them to become. They are still a violent species, constantly warring amongst each other. The warrior you created possesses knowledge which will only make these wars worse, and then, when it has conquered its world it will reach for the stars, seeking to conquer that which we guard."

"You must do what must be done," the Elder sang. "The council has made a decision. To save all, one of us must die. Those who do not choose to die must live forever with the knowledge of what their mistake has cost. Choose now, and choose wisely."

One of the scientists flew slowly forward, although he was careful not to come to close to the Elder and appear disrespectful. "I will go," he sang with sudden determination. "Let it take me instead of another. I will give my life freely so the cause may be saved."

The Elder appeared to consider this before responding. "It is agreed," he sang sadly. "You must meet with the warrior, and agree to its demands. Then you must give your life so that we may be saved. Only then will your mistakes be repaired."

The scientist bowed low in submission, knowing now that the others would not be punished for their mistakes. It would, however, be forced to face a nightmare of its own making, one that could kill even the most powerful Vorlon with little effort. As the Elder returned to its encounter suit the scientist recalled the effort that had been put into creating the warrior.

The idea, like so many others, had been good. Create a powerful warrior to fight the darkness, one that would be invulnerable to any weapon or energy. For two centuries ten scientists had worked on the primitive planet, searching for one who might serve as their warrior when the darkness returned and the war resumed. Finally, one had been found, young as its kind measured things, but strong of mind, body, and most importantly, faith. From the moment of its birth the Vorlon's had spoken to it, guiding the young warrior to become a leader, a soldier. It had surpassed all of their expectations, becoming a warrior of skill and compassion.

But, as often happened, things did not all go well for the warrior. Although it was strong and skilful it was also deeply religious and believed the lies that were told to it by its elders. Finally after winning the war it had fought so hard, it was captured by the enemy of its nation and sentenced to death. But, before the sentence could be carried out, the Vorlons had come, alone in the night, when the others of the warrior's kind lay sleeping.

There, in that dark dingy cell, they had offered it a choice, to live and serve them, or to go to its death the next morning, burning in the fire its enemies had planned for it. Believing the Vorlons to be agents of its god, the warrior had chosen to live - and to serve - as the Vorlons knew it would. Transporting it to the research ship, they had begun to alter it, slowly over many years, creating their ultimate warrior.

However, things started to go wrong. The Vorlons, in their attempt to create the ultimate weapon, made a basic error. They had made it too intelligent! As its intelligence grew, so did the warrior's disdain for both the Vorlons and their cause. Then, finally, just three weeks ago, it had broken out of its cell and, through its newly enhanced senses, saw the Vorlons as they truly were.

The warrior's rage was incredible. For thirty one years it had served the Vorlons on their ship, allowing itself to be altered because it believed they were messengers of its god. Now, seeing the Vorlons for the first time without their disguises, the warrior 'knew' them to be demons sent to trick it. In the ensuing battle, six of the ten scientists had been killed and the other four had fled in one of the research ship's transports.

Now, with the Elder's arrival, and with it, the decision from the Vorlon homeworld, another of the scientists was to die. This death was to be an act of self sacrifice, a giving of life so the cause could continue. Reaching the edge of the council chambers the doomed scientist commanded the cruiser's outer hull to become opaque, so it could look down on the vessel that had been its home for the past two hundred years.

Soon the huge research vessel would die, plunging into the atmosphere of the world below, no doubt providing another omen for the world's astrologers to debate. It had been suggested that the warrior be left to fall with it, but the scientist knew that would not work. A creature as powerful as the one they had created would not die that easily. Then the Elder had suggested another plan, one that stung the scientist's soul even to think of it, but it was the only possibility available.

The warrior, who strength was such that it could destroy entire worlds, must be imprisoned. A distant world had been found, one where no sentient life existed. There it would be sent, to be locked away from the universe forever. It was a sad end to a once noble creature of order, but the Vorlons saw no other option. Soon the scientist would sacrifice its life, providing the final key in the lock that would enchain their greatest creation, but also imprison their greatest threat.

 

* * *

 

Alone in chaos of Hyperspace, the large yellow-green shape of a Vorlon transport stood out like a beacon against the red mists that swirled around it. Looking closer, it was possible to see the living ship was slowly dying, its formerly brightly coloured organic hull was now covered with dark patches. It appeared that the organic metal of the hull had been drained of the life energy that normally flowed through it, and dark cracks were now beginning to form on the normally smooth hull.

Inside, things were even worse. The once beautiful veins of energy that had fed power across the ship were thick with darkness, their life and strength long gone. The transport's Vorlon master was still alive, but even it was feeling the effect of being so close to the monster that sat calmly at the back of the command deck. The Vorlon scientist was hidden within it's encounter suit, but even that could not protect it from the warrior who was clearly enjoying tormenting both the Vorlon and the ship.

The Vorlon already knew it was dying, as was the ship, but there would be time yet to end the nightmare it had helped to create. This would be the last trip it, or its companion transport ever took, but it was perhaps the most important journey of its long life. Failure was not an option, that would mean the destruction of order the Vorlons sought to create across this small part of the galaxy. Instead the chaos of war would erupt and the darkness would have found a powerful new ally of the Vorlon's own making.

The creature that rested comfortably on the ship's navigation console, its wiry arms tucked behind its head, was the embodiment of all that the Vorlons sought to fight. They had tried to create a creature of order, but instead what had been born out of the fire and conflict they had put it through was a being of chaos, one that cared nothing for the lives it took. Having seen the true face of the Vorlons, it no longer obeyed them, no longer feared them. Instead, it now sought to destroy them.

The scientist felt a sudden chill running through its entire being and knew, without having to look around, that the warrior had arisen from its rest. Cat-like it padded across the floor, its bare feet leaving behind swirls of darkness wherever they touched the organic metal. "When do we arrive, Vorlon," it asked in the tongue of its people. "I grow bored with this endless waiting."

The Vorlon turned to face the warrior - and its own fear - while at the same time trying to avoid shuddering. It felt a painful pull on its life-force as the pale-skinned warrior drew closer. The warrior smiled up at the scientist, and with dark humour increased the drain on the ship and the Vorlon, tearing away even more energy. "Soon," the Vorlon sang, its translator converting the beautiful song into the harsh language of the warrior's people.

"Good," the warrior replied leaving the side of the Vorlon to return to its makeshift seat. "When we get there you will leave me in peace. I never want to see another of your kind on my world ever again. We will serve as your slaves no longer, I will see to that."

The Vorlon turned to follow the warrior's path, the small iris in the head of its encounter suit clicking open and shut as it observed the warrior. "We only seek to help you," it sang, trying one last time to convince the warrior of the purity of the cause. "Soon the darkness will return, and your world will be in its path. The people you seek to protect will fall into darkness and fire, and your holy cause will be lost amid the destruction."

The warrior yawned, stretching its limbs as if tired, which of course it wasn't. It was never tired, not any more. "I have heard all this before, Vorlon. Your arguments no longer convince me. I have fought a holy war much of my life, why should I fight now in yours, especially when my people need to be helped into the light of God."

"You must," the Vorlon sang. "The darkness will destroy your people as much as mine. We have tried to help your people in the past, sheltered them from those who sought to kill them. We seek to aid you, not destroy you."

The warriors dark eyes narrowed, and almost seemed to gleam in the light. "My people will fight the darkness as they will fight you. With this technology that you have given me I will raise my people into the light, free them from the chains that bind them. I now have the power to right the wrongs that have been done, to bring the radiance of God to the entire galaxy, destroying all those who follow evil. Without me, my people will fall to hundreds of years of war and chaos. With me, they will join into a single army of justice that will sweep across these worlds you speak of, cleaning away the corrupt and the impure. I thank you for that gift, but you no longer have the right to stand before me and preach your lost cause."

"We must try," the Vorlon said sadly, knowing its fate was now sealed. "Your people are not ready for the power you will give them. You must wait, in time they will learn."

"I will teach them," the warrior replied. "I may have been away for many years, but there are many who will remember my name, and honour the sacrifice I made for them. When I call they will come and we will create a holy army unlike any ever seen before. All the world shall hear our cries for justice and freedom, and then we shall bring our armies to this darkness you speak off and destroy it, along with all other evil."

"It will destroy you," the Vorlon scientist argued. "You are not ready. Remain with us and we will teach you until you are ready."

"Who are you to say when I am ready," the warrior responded angrily. "I who have fought much of my life. I know more of the ways of battle than you, Vorlon."

"Yes, but do you understand the reasons of battle."

"I fight for God, for justice, and for freedom. I do not fight for ideology, nor for a cause that no longer has any reason. Your kind fights only because you have forgotten how to live. I do not fight for those who no longer know why they are fighting. You are nothing but a coward, a creature who seeks to have others battle for you, because you no longer wish to die in honourable battle. Instead you wish to hide behind a shield of innocents, sending them out to die for you. Those of noble heart should lead from the fore, battling the evil themselves, instead of sending servants out to fight."

The Vorlon scientist realised at last that no amount of argument would change the warrior's mind. Like all primitive creatures it was full of its own self importance, believing that its holy cause was the only one worth fighting, and because of this, it was no longer capable of seeing the true picture. Somewhere, on dark, forgotten worlds, the darkness waited. Soon it would come again, seeking to destroy the order the Vorlons had created. Chaos must not be allowed to win, never could that be allowed. Order must always triumph over the darkness or the very structure of universe would be lost.

"How long now?" the warrior asked, its attention turned from the argument back to more important matter, such as its return home.

"Soon," the Vorlon replied again.

"It seems longer this time," the warrior said. "You would not be attempting to trick me again, would you. You have already agreed to my requests, you would not be trying to wriggle out of them would you? Lies are the last resort of the evil and unjust. Those who are pure have no cause to speak anything but the truth."

"It has been agreed," the Vorlon responded, while its mind tried to hide the truth. Inside, the Vorlon knew it did not really need to worry, for one thing the warrior had failed to learn was the power of telepathy. However it had proven more intelligent than they had originally thought and, given the knowledge to fight and adapt, it had created a defence against their telepathic powers and locked its mind away from them. The scientists had not planned for this, nor had they planned for the warrior to escape the tests and destroy the entire research vessel, along with six of the researchers.

The scientist returned to the controls of the transport ship. He could feel the pain the ship was in, even above his own agony, but knew it would continue to obey him, even if it meant both their deaths. Vorlon ships were grown to serve, as the younger races should serve, and unlike the warrior, it would not betray him in this hour of need. Ignoring the pain, and the warrior that was the cause, the Vorlon concentrated instead on the plan laid out before it.

 

* * *

 

**1462, Vorlon Space.**

The small green world of Arias hung peacefully between the gas giant it orbited, and the two other tiny worlds that were its constant companions. It was a hot jungle world, the entire surface covered by a thick growth of plant life, while beneath that canopy lived hundreds of scurrying reptilian creatures. In a universe of barren lifeless worlds it was an oasis, a world with its own, naturally occurring, life forms. However, Arias was situated on the edge of the Vorlon Empire, and as a world that had yet to be settled by any known sentient race, to the Vorlons it was expendable.

Close to the northern magnetic pole, where the jungle faded to become a vast grassy plain, something descended through the moisture filled atmosphere. The grass began to rustle violently in a sudden breeze as the huge shape of a Vorlon transport came down through the thick clouds, its long, squid-like shape casting a dark shadow across the ground. On the edge of the jungle, watching native creatures screeched in primitive terror and ran for the safety of the trees.

Like a vast bird of prey, the transport hung above the plain, its gravimetric engines flattening the grass, forming large circular depressions. Then the four huge, petal-like wings folded inward, until they almost touched the hull, and the transport gently dropped to the ground near a large outcropping of rock that rose above the plain. Inside the rocky surface of the hill, tiny six-legged lizards shot off into their burrows, eager to escape the strange new monster that had just arrived near their homes.

On the side of the transport a spiral opening suddenly appeared and through that opening walked two creatures. One was a Vorlon, safely encased in its encounter suit, its body seeming to glide across the surface of the world, while at the same time it also swayed slightly as if it was walking. The second creature was a lot shorter, small compared to the tall Vorlon encounter suit. It was also thin and wiry, unlike the large, bulky shape of the Vorlon's shell.

The smaller creature walked on two legs, as most creatures in this section of the galaxy did. Its black eyes scanned around the field and then it seemed to pause as if it didn't find what it was looking for. It spun around to face the Vorlon. "This is not my world," it cried. "You have tricked me. I will destroy you for this betrayal."

The Vorlon nodded slowly, inclining the head of its encounter suit in the direction of the smaller creature. "Yes you will. But the mistake must be fixed."

"You think me a mistake?" the warrior snarled, its face twisting in almost uncontrollable anger. "You can not destroy me this easily. I will kill you and then, using your ship, I will find and destroy every last one of your kind."

"You will die," the Vorlon sang calmly, now secure in its fate. Behind it the huge shape of the transport lifted off from the planet's surface on silent engines, gliding smoothly away from the grass plain where the two antagonists faced each other. "It is over."

"I don't think so," the warrior replied. "I will build another ship, I know how now. Then I will still return back to my home. You made me immortal, and doing so gave me the power to destroy you. Even should it take me another thirty years, another hundred, even another thousand I will destroy you, and all of your kind. My people will never again be your slaves. We will master our own destiny, rise up from our world and drive away those who seek to threaten us."

"No," was the curt reply from the Vorlon as it swung around to look at the departing transport. Its voice grew sadder, the musical tones becoming darker and lower. "You will die."

With a fierce war cry the warrior leapt across the gap between them and dug its black claw-like nails into the Vorlon's encounter suit. It sliced through the organic metal as if it were little thicker than paper, and its claws then cut into the Vorlon's true body. Trapped inside, the Vorlon's ethereal body shuddered and slowly began to darken as its life-force was drained away. To weak to fight back, it let its mind wander across the skies to the waiting fleet. "Now," was its last song as the few remaining remnants of its life were drained away to feed the hunger of its attacker.

The warrior released the now empty shell of the Vorlon scientist and stepped back, searching around for a weapon to use, anything that it could use to fight against the Vorlon. Its roving eyes landed on the rocky hill, and the dark opening of a cave that lay, almost hidden, behind a small clump of low bushes. Realising that the Vorlon's must have a trap planned for it, the warrior ran, its legs carrying faster than it had ever run before. Increasing its speed even further, it fled across the grassy plain towards the possible sanctuary.

Above the sky turned red with fire as the gathered Vorlon fleet turned their weapons against the planet below. Huge chunks of rock, torn from the surface of the planet's companion worlds, were manoeuvred by gravimetric forces and sent plunging down through the thick atmosphere, seeking the warrior's position. The once beautiful, life-filled jungle burst into flame as vast balls of fire plunged down and impacted all around the landing site of the Vorlon transport.

The warrior felt the ground heave violently beneath it, and then found itself flying through the air, straight towards the dark opening of the cave. It tried to roll into the dive, but struck the jagged, rocky floor hard, slicing open its pale flesh and spraying the floor and walls of the cave with drops of its pale, almost luminescent blood. Unable to control its roll, the warrior tumbled down a steep slope, falling into the bowels of the hill.

Above, the world's surface burst into flame, and much of the hill vanished as a massive chunk rock smashed into it, transmuting the rocks, along with their tiny reptilian inhabitants, into a cloud of dust and molten rock. Deep beneath the surface the rock cracked open, and molten lava began to rise to the surface, flowing down barren tunnels, heading straight towards the warrior, who lay wounded and bleeding in its path.

The warrior stood on unsteady legs, noticing the red glow approaching down a side passage. Unlike most sane creatures it did not flee, instead it closed its eyes and slowly began to absorb the heat that was growing with every passing second. The Vorlon scientists had done their job well, and the warrior's skin was now capable of absorbing energy of all kind. After a few minutes the warrior opened its eyes, looking out over the mass of now cooling rock, with a satisfied smile on its lips.

It held out its arms, examining the wounds it had received during the mad dive into the cave. As it expected, they were gone, the pale, almost translucent skin now smooth and clean. It smiled again and, turning away from the chunk of glassy rock that had, only moments before, been a river of lava, it strode down the tunnel. Above, on the surface of the world, the bombardment seemed to have stopped, although the silence gave no indication on what else might be occurring. The warrior knew the Vorlons, despite their other flaws, would never leave a job half done, so it still suspected more was to come.

The warrior's eyes, enhanced by the Vorlons to see in almost all conditions, had no trouble seeking out its path, lines of heat left from the lava lighting the way up to the surface. Its mind still bent on revenge against the Vorlons, the warrior began to run, using up a tiny amount of the energy it had just absorbed. Ahead, it could smell the acrid stench of the fire that had scorched the air, the breeze from the surface carrying the smells of the burning jungle to assault the warrior's senses.

Ten minutes later it finally made it up to the surface, and exited from another cave, this one on the opposite side of the hill from where it had landed. The scene that confronted it was one of horror and death. The plain of grass was gone, as was much of the nearby jungle, and in its place was a landscape of fire and destruction, pockmarked with large craters. Even to the warrior, its heart frozen by years of war and betrayal, it was a devastating sight.

Two glowing tears fell from its eyes, tracing lines of fire down its cheeks before they fell from its face to land on the ground below. Never before had it seen such destruction and death, an entire world burnt, just to kill it. Its heart began to thaw, pain and sadness welling up inside at the sight. The warrior knew that all this devastation had been done for one cause, to kill it, and a tiny part of its heart, a remnant of its former, mortal life, would have preferred to sacrifice its life and avoid this destruction. Another, larger part, said that the Vorlons were responsible for the destruction, and it was they who must be made to suffer.

Then, high above the warrior's location, the night sky began to darken, a cold cloud of blackness beginning to work its way across the world's surface, extinguishing the fires as it came. At first the warrior didn't notice the cloud's arrive, but then it felt a chill in its body, something that should not be there when it stood so close to a burning forest. The chill grew stronger, and the warrior's body began to shake as fear began to grow inside.

The only things in the universe it feared were cold, and darkness. As long as there was light, as long as there was heat, it could not die. Now both were vanishing, both light and heat being sucked up by the cloud of darkness that spread across the northern half of Arias. "Vorlon bastards!" the warrior screamed angrily, letting out all of its pain in one single cry that echoed around the tiny cave, and across the nearby fiery plain.

It edged its way back inside the cave, away from the cold that began to fill the outside world. Inside it was warmer, closer to the burning centre of the world. It was not much, but it might just be enough to enable the warrior to survive, at least until it could work out a way to escape. It turned and ran, trying to get as deep as possible before the cloud of darkness arrived. As it ran, It reached into a dark, hidden pocket of its robe and fingered the glowing yellow-green seed that rested there. "One day, Vorlons," it whispered to itself. "One day I will escape and then you will pay for this betrayal with your lives."

Outside the black cloud began to crackle with green energy, as the Vorlon fleet fired new weapons into their creation, creating an electromagnetic shield that would prevent anyone from ever reaching, or escaping from, the world's surface again. That done, their mistake imprisoned for all time, the fleet turned and flew away from the destroyed world, sadness at what they had been forced to do welling up in the hearts of every Vorlon involved. It had been a necessary act, or their goals for every species in this part of the galaxy would have been ruined. That didn't make it any easier though.

On the command vessel, the Vorlon Elder watched the world retreat into the distance, the head of its encounter suit dropping in sadness. It wondered if the right thing had been done, and if altering the younger races was the right way after all. So many had died this time, including several Vorlons, all because of a single miscalculation. Despite possessing only an ethereal form, the Vorlon Elder shivered in fear as it thought about what would happen if the warrior ever escaped its prison. If it did, then the galaxy would know terror unlike anything it had faced before, and next time there would be no escape.

 

* * *

 


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER ONE   


 

* * *

 

March 25, 2262, Earth.

The bullet train sped east from Paris, entering the mountainous landscape of what had once been eastern France. Once, long ago, the trains travelling this route might have been slowed considerably by the steep hills and mountains, but this modern, twenty-third century train didn't ease off its speed at all, not even as it swept through a series of tunnels and gentle rises. Cruising at nearly seven hundred kilometres an hour, the bullet train passed the first mountain range in less than fifteen minutes and was soon snaking its way downwards again, towards the city of Lyons.

The city, built around the confluence of the Rhône and Saône Rivers, was a major light industrial centre, with a population of just over three million. Normally that would be enough to warrant a stopover on the train's route, but not this time. This early morning bullet train was an express, London to Rome, and then back again, stopping at only two other cities along its long route. So, instead of slowing as it approached the city, it sped up, hovering just beneath the sound barrier as it crossed the Saône River before slowing again as it began the short, winding journey up towards the Earth Alliance capital, Geneva.

Birds dunking for fish along the Rhône didn't even look up as the train sped past. Magnetically levitated above the rails, it was almost silent, the only noise the sound of wind rushing along its sleek aerodynamic form. As it travelled along the river bank, its white shape glistened in the early dawn light. Over the mountains to the east, the sun was just beginning its climb across the sky, heralding the coming of the new day. The train didn't have time to enjoy the warmth of its light though, only a few brief seconds before plunging into the darkness of the long tunnel leading up toward Geneva.

The tunnel was pitch black, with only the occasional glowing distance marker and the lights of the train itself to provide any illumination. Despite the tunnel's length, the darkness did not last long, and seven minutes later the train exited into the now bright sunlight. Almost immediately it began to slow, its track joining several others leading into the largest transport hub on the entire planet. The few tourists on board had a brief glimpse of the towering structure of Earthdome before another tunnel beckoned, this one leading to the lowest level of Earthdome's transit centre, where hundreds of trains and shuttles would carry passengers from across the planet into the capital every day.

Gliding gently to a stop at the main platform, the doors of the train opened and disgorged its cargo of officials, businessmen, workers, and visitors. On the next platform, the transcontinental from Beijing had also just recently arrived, both trains combining to fill the transit centre with over a thousand new arrivals. The platforms on the opposite side of each train were already crowded with those waiting to board, workers returning home from the previous night's shift. Despite the rush, barely ten minutes later, both trains would be off again, one heading west towards Paris and London, the other south towards Rome.

Right now though, the current passengers were busy trying to find their way along the platform and up the stairs into the transit centre. Geneva might be the capital of the Earth Alliance, but its permanent population numbered just over a hundred thousand, meaning that many times every day this scene was repeated, as the office workers and officials that made the Earth Alliance run smoothly arrived for work. Later, in the afternoon and early evening similar scenes would occur as those who had arrived this morning took the late train back to their homes in the larger cities.

Right in the centre of this crush, two women were trying to find their way down the platform without loosing track of each other. One was an attractive woman of medium-height, clad in Earthforce blue, the insignia on her shoulders indicating her rank of Captain. By her side was a slightly shorter, but no less attractive, blonde woman, dressed in a smart grey business suit, the symbol of Psi-Corps prominent on her collar.

The taller of the two women, Earth Alliance Captain Susan Ivanova, was beginning to wonder if taking the express train from Paris had been such a good idea after all. Her hand tightly clutching her companion's, she was struggling to make headway through the busy crowd of passengers, all whom seemed have a much better knowledge of where they were going than she did. Eventually she gave up, standing rock-still in the centre of the concourse, waiting until everyone else had passed by.

"I told you we should have taken the later train," Talia Winters murmured as she allowed herself to be dragged aside by Susan. Around the two women, the other passengers looked at them in annoyance as they were forced to sidestep the pair to continue their journey. Beside them the doors of their train slid shut again and with barely a whisper of noise it hurtled off down the track, toward the end of its journey in the crowded city of Rome.

"It's been a while since I've taken a civilian train into Geneva," Susan admitted as the crowd of passengers slowly moved on up the platform. "Usually I just take a shuttle to Earthforce Headquarters."

"Typical soldier," Talia said with a loving smile, slipping her hand through the crook of Susan's arm. "You never know how bad us civilians have things."

"If I don't get to Earthdome soon I might be finding out a lot more about civilian life," Susan said, frowning as she checked the time displayed on the board above the platform.

"We have plenty of time, Susan," Talia told her, glancing at the watch she wore around her wrist. "We could stop for breakfast and still be in Earthdome with plenty of time to spare before for your meeting. Of course, if you had wanted to get here earlier you shouldn't have stayed up so late last night."

Susan blushed, remembering exactly why she had been up so late. "Looks like it's a little quieter now," she said, changing the subject. "We might as well get moving. If we remain around here for too much longer another train is sure to arrive."

Talia took Susan's hand in her own. Even through the soft Minbari fabric her glove was made of, she still felt a connection with the other woman, something neither could explain or ignore. "Come on," she said. "I will show you the way." Susan nodded and allowed Talia to lead her along the platform, and up the wide marble steps that led into the main transit area. As they walked, both thought back on the events that had led them here.

It had been nearly a month since Susan had freed Talia from the manipulative Psi-Corp implanted personality that had been controlling her. That event had happened shortly after what was now being called the Battle for Proxima. That battle had been the climatic ending to a conspiracy that stretched back to the days of the Clark administration, one that was rumoured to have had powerful commercial backers.

A collection of Earth's powerful mega-corporations, upset with the loss of business to companies based on other worlds, had financed the construction of a new, incredibly powerful warship, capable of destroying entire colonies with its oversized mass driver. Unfortunately for the companies, the man they chose to command their warship, the former Psi-Cop Harvey Kiel, had plans of his own with very different objectives. After killing off the businessmen who had financed the ship, he had set off on a voyage of death and destruction. Thousands had died, both when he attacked the poorly defended Flinn's Colony and later during the battle in near the colony world of Proxima III.

Susan had commanded the fleet opposing him, after the fleet's original commander, Vice-Admiral Emmerton, had her flagship destroyed at the start of the battle. Joined by several older destroyers, Susan's vessel, the EAS Rasputin, first production model of the new Warlock class destroyers, soon disabled the enemy vessel's main weapon. Then, along with a crack team of EAS Marines, Susan and Talia had boarded the huge warship. There though, they had both been wounded, Talia by a PPG shot to her shoulder, and Susan by a brutal assault on her mind by the enemy commander. However, they had survived, and with her newly discovered telepathic powers, Susan had been able to free Talia from the artificial personality that had taken over her mind. 

After the victory both women had deep wounds to recover from. Susan had to learn to deal with her awakened telepathic abilities, and Talia had memories of things she had never done, horrible, evil things. Together they had journeyed to the Minbari colony world of Shiraka, and the unnamed island haven that housed a small colony of Minbari telepaths. There they had explored the depth of their feelings for each other, and Susan had finally gained enough control of her abilities to survive without going insane or alerting Psi-Corps of her existence.

That brief oasis of peace in their troubled lives hadn't lasted as long as either had wanted, or needed. During the trip back, they had enjoyed an overnight visit to Babylon 5, before catching the next liner back to Earth. Susan had been most surprised to find that instead of being ordered to Io, where the Rasputin was undergoing repairs and adjustments, she had been recalled to Earth. After a brief stop over at a hotel in Paris the previous night, they were on the way to Earthdome to meet with Susan's superior, Admiral Mellor.

Consequently, this beautiful, early spring morning, the two women found themselves walking up the stairs that led to the Geneva transit centre. For Talia it was the first time in the city in close to five years, having spent nearly two years on Babylon 5, followed by another two on Mars, attached to a Psi-Corps research centre. They were not pleasant memories for her though, and on such a beautiful morning she preferred to dwell on more pleasant things, such as the woman who walked beside her, and the happiness they had found together. She looked forward to walking the streets of Earth's capital, with Susan on her arm, showing all the world how lucky she was. But first, there was the busy transit centre to navigate. 

Upstairs, the transit centre was nearly as crowded as the platform below had been. Although only official Earthforce shuttles were ever permitted within the airspace over Earthdome, it was still a busy centre of transport for other civilian traffic. Unlike the domes on Proxima III, Earth did not have, or rather could not afford, the expensive roads designed solely for magnetically levitated vehicles. Instead the planet had very large numbers of electrically powered vehicles, which travelled old road networks that had existed for centuries. 

This meant that the trains that arrived every few minutes were not the only form of transport available. They were the cheapest and fastest, but by no means the only one. Outside the transit centre electric buses, and even the occasional private car, were common, most bringing commuters from the nearby towns and cities around of Lake Geneva. Even the lake itself was used as a form of transport. As Susan and Talia finally made their way out of the transit centre and onto the balcony that ringed the main level of Earthdome, they could see the tiny shapes of sailing boats in the distance, most likely city workers looking for a more pleasant journey to their workplaces.

Geneva itself was now little more than a city of monuments, any industry that had once existed moved away long ago when the price of land grew too expensive. Now government buildings, statues, museums, and restaurants seemed to be the only structures that occupied the capital. Largest of these monuments was the glittering shape of Earthdome itself, the home of the Earth Alliance government. 

Completed in 2158, a few short years after first contact with the Centauri, the building was a massive structure that towered over the city like a giant spider, the buildings and park lands gathered around, as if stuck in its web. Unlike most of Earth cities, Geneva had few tall buildings, apart from Earthdome of course. Instead, time had been taken to improve the appearance of the city, making it a worthy capital of one of the major powers in the known universe. Of course, there were only three major powers left now, with the Vorlon's vanishing beyond the galactic rim, and the Narn still recovering from the Centauri invasion of their world.

The architects had done a beautiful job. Back in the mid twenty-first century, Geneva, like all the cities of its time, had been a completely different place, choked by pollution and over crowding. But now, a mere two hundred and ten years after the global renewal program had begun, the city sparkled, the white buildings and the great dome reflecting the light with all the glory a spring morning could muster. In the distance rose a tall range of snow-capped peaks, and below them, the picturesque scene of racing yachts on Lake Geneva, slowing making their way towards the old docks district.

Even Susan, used to sights of strange alien wonders on distant worlds, felt her breath taken away by the sight. Below them was the first tier of Earthdome, the ring of gardens and parks, while back behind them was the dome itself. Then beyond, stretching from the edge of Earthdome all the way off to the mountains in the east, was the city itself. Glancing over at her companion, she saw that Talia was even more amazed by what she saw, the beauty of the capital surpassing even the wonders of the Minbari colony they had recently visited. Certainly compared to the crowded city of Paris, where their shuttle had landed them last night, it was another world altogether.

"I had forgotten how beautiful it is, Susan," Talia said, almost breathless with delight. "Look, you can even see the snow on the mountains. I haven't seen snow in so many years."

"Well, if I get kicked out of Earthforce, we might just get a chance to go up to the mountains," Susan replied, her tenseness about the sudden summons to Earthdome snatching away the brief enjoyment she had found from the scenery. Still, despite her concerns, she agreed that there was something about the city, and even Earthdome itself, that made Geneva seem more impressive than any of the other places she had visited.

"Don't be such a pessimist," Talia replied, whacking Susan gently in the arm. "Come on, lets go for a walk. It's too nice a day to waste waiting in some stuffy office. And don't worry, there is still plenty of time for you to get to your meeting."

"How about a cup of coffee," Susan offered, eyeing the restaurants and cafes that were just opening along this level. The second tier of Earthdome was a popular dining place for those who worked inside the dome, or the many visitors who came to see the sights. It looked down on the gardens and park lands of the first tier, and beyond them, to the magnificent sight of the lake and the distant mountains.

Talia looked at her in exasperation. "You really are terrible, Susan. I was thinking of a peaceful walk through the park. It looks so beautiful down there this early in the morning."

"And cold," Susan complained, feeling the chill in the air coming down from the mountains. In fact, it was more than just a little cold. It might be early spring in the northern hemisphere, but the chill of winter still hung heavy in the air. The mountains and hills on both sides of the city were still white with snow, and although the sky was clear of clouds, the shade of blue was a lot paler than it would be during the heart of summer. 

Talia frowned. Then she also felt the chilly wind flowing across lake from the snow-covered peaks off in the distance. "Yes, it is a little cold," she agreed, shivering slightly. "Maybe a warm drink wouldn't be a bad idea after all."

Susan smiled. "How about that place over there?" she asked, pointing out the only cafe that was open at the moment, probably to serve early arrivals like herself. When Talia agreed they made their way over to the cafe and went inside, out of the chilly morning and into the warm, heated interior. 

Only two other customers were in the cafe, businessmen by the look of them. As they talking quietly in one corner over cups of coffee, Susan found herself running a standard threat assessment, before dismissing them as unimportant. The two women took a seat closer to the door and ordered their drinks. Susan picked up the copy of yesterdays Universe Today sitting on a nearby chair and began to leaf through it. "Anything interesting?" Talia asked.

Susan shook her head, before putting the paper back where she had found it. "Not really, just the usual." 

"Nothing about you?" Talia asked, a teasing smile on her lips. 

Before Susan could reply the waiter arrived with their drinks. After Susan had paid with her credit chit, she picked up the cup and breathed in the strong aroma of the hot coffee. "This is something I really miss in space," she told Talia, who was already sipping her own drink.

"I know what you mean," Talia replied. "The synthetic just doesn't taste the same. It's just as hot, but they can't seem to replicate the taste properly. Those Minbari drinks are even worse."

"You weren't the one you had to drink them though," Susan said, remembering the various substances the Minbari telepath Raekenn had insisted she had to drink or eat as part of her telepathic training. Eventually she had reminded the dour old monk that she only had three weeks and didn't have time to become ill due to food poisoning.

"I thought Raekenn was going to explode when you refused to drink that green stuff," Talia giggled. "He spent the rest the day walking around muttering about primitive humans."

"I still think it was seaweed," Susan said. "It certainly smelt like it."

"It was all worth it though," Talia said, reaching over and taking Susan's bare hand in her gloved one.

Susan nodded, lowering the blocks in her mind just a little to let Talia inside.  <Yes it was,> she agreed, sending her thoughts into Talia's mind instead of speaking out loud. She thought back to the exercises the Minbari telepath had put her through, exercises that had taught her how to block out the thoughts of others. Less than a month ago she wouldn't have been able to walk through a crowded city like Geneva without a painful throbbing in her head, caused by the thoughts and emotions of all those around her. Now the voices in her head were just a distant mummer, almost undetectable most of the time.

She took another sip of her drink, while at the same time gently stroked the back of Talia's hand.  <I would have like to have spent more time there,> she told Talia, deciding to keep communicating telepathically.  <I learned so much, but there is still a lot more I have to discover.>

Talia nodded understandingly.  <You can't expect to learn everything in just three weeks, Susan. It took me ten years of training at Psi-Corps before I understood even the basics of what I could do. You learned a lot more than I expected, and at least now you can hide yourself from Psi-Cops, if necessary.>

<I just hope I don't run into any,> Susan said, glancing nervously around the room. There were no black-uniformed figures lurking in the corners though, just the two customers still busy with their own conversation, and the staff.

<You will be fine,> Talia assured her.  <I can feel your presence, but I am a lot closer to you, closer than you would allow any Psi-Cop to get. As long as they don't scan you, then there is nothing to worry about.>

A flicker of a smile crossed Susan's lips.  <Then, basically, I am back were I was before all this happened.>

<But with much better defences than before,> Talia reminded her.  <Even if a Psi-Cop did try to scan you now, you could probably keep him out, and with some more practice you will only get better. It is a pity that Raekenn couldn't teach you more.>

<I don't think there was a lot more he could have taught me in the time I was there,> Susan said.

<No, Minbari telepathic abilities aren't as powerful as Humans,> Talia agreed.  <But at least you learned the basics, enough to stop yourself from broadcasting your thoughts to everyone when you are trying to just send them to one person.>

<Especially when there is only one person I want to share my thoughts with,> Susan said softly, looking faintly embarrassed by her thoughts at the same time.

Talia squeezed Susan's hand to show she felt the same way, and went back to finishing off her drink. As they both sat there, looking lovingly at each other, the two men at the back of the cafe pushed their chairs aside and headed towards the exit. Susan glanced up as they passed, and was a little surprised to see a senator's pin stuck through the lapel of one of the men. She didn't know him, so assumed he was probably one of the new senators elected since the end of the Clark administration. The senator, however, obviously knew her, and gave her a brief nod of recognition as he passed. The second man, looking concerned and nervous about something, quickly followed the senator out the door.

"Do you have any idea who that was?" she asked Talia, as soon as the two men had left. There was something about the second man that made her suspicious. She dismissed those thoughts quickly though, realising that she would probably be off the planet again by the end of the day, and this wasn't the time to be looking everywhere for new conspiracies.

Talia shrugged. "I have never seen either of them before. But then, I don't really spent much time around the senate."

"That was Senator Harrison of the Pacific Alliance," their waiter informed them as he arrived at their table. "He often comes in here." Noticing that both had finished their drinks, he asked, "will there be anything else ladies?"

Susan checked the time on her link, and then over at Talia who shook her head. "No, that will be all," she told the waiter who quickly cleared away the two cups. "I think we should be going," she told Talia. "I am supposed to meet the Admiral in an hour."

"And it will take you about fifteen minutes to get to Earthforce HQ from here," Talia reminded her with a teasing smile.

"I like to be early," Susan said, with an answering smile. Talia nodded and the two women set off towards the closest entrance into the main dome. The cafe they had just left was on the balcony that stretched around the entire dome, the perfect place to just sit, eat, and look out over the beautiful scenery of Geneva and the surrounding countryside. Once through the entrance, they were inside Earthdome proper.

Below, into the underground levels, and inside the base of the dome itself stretched the labyrinthine network of the central archives. There, on a thousand shelves in nearly as many rooms, were millions of books, data crystals and other storage devices that maintained a record of everything that occurred inside the alliance and beyond. Above, inside the atmospheric dome, were the buildings that housed the offices of the bureaucracy responsible for the mass of information in the archives.

The interior of the dome was a little like a small city, except no-one lived here, not even the president, she had an official residence in the old city. Instead, there were buildings dedicated solely to the various departments of the government, including Psi-Corps, Earthforce, and a myriad of others. Alien governments with relations with Earth, currently nearly two dozen different races, were also given quarters within the ambassadorial building, a tall structure located near the senate building.

Despite its size, no vehicles were permitted beneath the dome, not even for the president, who used an official shuttle from the landing area at the top of Earthdome. This enclosed city was designed solely for pedestrian traffic and not powered vehicles. Of course, that didn't stop the designers from putting in elevators and mobile walkways from the transit centre to the various buildings inside Earthdome, all hidden away beneath the artificial ground of the main level. Even above ground, thousands of people moved around, following the stone paths and plazas from building to building.

Perhaps a little surprisingly, especially considering how many people worked inside, there appeared to be no large entrances into the dome. Instead, most were like the one Susan and Talia had just pass through, small passageways leading from the second level, or stairs leading down to the ring of parks around the dome. This was because most people arrived at the transit centre and simply took an elevator from there up to their destination.

"What are you going to do while I am meeting the Admiral?" Susan asked Talia as they made their way across Victory Square towards the Central Administration Building, which rose like some great monolith from the centre of the dome.

Talia looked across towards the Psi-Corps building, just visible behind several other central buildings. "I thought I might make a quick trip to Psi-Corps headquarters. There are some things I need to do before we leave Earth again."

"Do you have to go in there?" Susan asked, staring nervously at the towering structure of Psi-Corps headquarters. Despite the building outer splendour, Susan didn't consider it attractive. Instead it seemed a cheap facade, an attempt to cover the deep rooted evil that lurked within.

Talia smiled at her companion's concern. "I am just going to check up on what my status is," she replied. "I also want to know if they are sending anyone to replace Anderson. I might copy some of the teaching material for you. I thought it might be a good idea so you can practice your abilities."

"Can you do that?" Susan asked in a worried tone, still eyeing off the Psi-Corps building. "Won't they find out if you copy anything?"

"I will just copy some of the basic material," Talia replied. "It is done all the time, so we can practice our skills. I think Psi-Corps is hoping that somehow they can increase telepathic ability that way, so I shouldn't have any trouble copying what I need to teach you a little more about your powers. You go to your meeting with the Admiral and I will join you later. Perhaps we can meet for lunch at one of the restaurants down in the old city. I probably won't be long, and you could be some time."

"How about the Bluewater Cafe then?" Susan suggested, deciding that if Talia wasn't going to get nervous about Psi-Corps, then she shouldn't either, at least until the next time she came into contact with a Psi-Cop.

"I don't think I know that one," Talia said. "Of course it has been a long time since I was in Geneva. In fact I haven't spent much time here at all."

"It's down on the lakefront," Susan told her. "You will love it. It is nearly a hundred years old, and one of the best restaurants in the whole city. It is the only place I eat when I am here."

"The Bluewater Cafe it is," Talia agreed, before leaning forward and kissing Susan lightly on the cheek. "I will meet you there at midday."

"Assuming I am free by then," Susan said as Talia turned away and began walking towards the Psi-Corps building.

Talia paused for a second and looked back at Susan. "Then I will wait until you arrive, even if you take the rest of the day."

A flicker of smile broke across Susan face, watching until Talia had almost disappeared behind one of the buildings. A warm feeling washed through her as she realised that Talia would probably do just that if she was stuck in her meeting with Mellor. When they had first been reunited Susan had been unsure if it was going to be possible to get back anything like what they had enjoyed before Talia had been taken away from her. 

But, after the vacation to the Minbari colony, both had realised that there was something between them, something so strong neither could deny it for long. Raekenn, the Minbari monk in charge of the colony, had said she had a destiny to fulfil, and that Talia was part of that destiny. Susan didn't know if she believed in destiny, but she certainly wasn't going to argue if it bought her closer to Talia. Not that either woman needed an excuse. Their long separation seemed to have only fuelled their passion for each other, growing to the point where they could barely bear to be apart.

She wasn't complaining. This was probably the first proper relationship she had ever had, the first time she had ever felt this strongly about anyone. Because of that fact, Susan felt even more concerned about everything Talia did, worried that Psi-Corps would try to take her away again. Even the thought of Talia going into the heart of Psi-Corps power on Earth was troubling, and although she knew Talia could take care of herself, Susan couldn't help but worry.

Right now though, she had her own concerns, specifically why Admiral Mellor would want to see her in his Earthdome office this early in the morning. Apart from one meeting shortly after the civil war, when she had returned from Babylon 5, all her discussions with the Admiral had taken place via the communications link, or on her ship. Why he would suddenly summon her directly to Earth was a nagging concern that had been worrying her ever since she had first received the message.

Susan knew she probably had nothing to worry about, and certainly that is what Talia had told her several times over the past day, but she couldn't help but feel concerned. She hoped that nothing was wrong, that she wasn't going to have her command stripped away or anything like that. If that was what happened then she would probably hold the new record for the shortest serving captain in Earthforce. As she walked towards the Central Administration building, she tried to dismiss all these recurring negative thoughts. It wouldn't do for an Earthforce captain to appear before her superior looking nervous and unsure of herself.

Leaving Victory Square behind her, Susan entered the massive glass and stone structure of the Central Administration Building, home to the bureaucracy of the Earth Alliance's civilian government. It rose from nearly twenty levels beneath the earth all the way up to the dome itself. There, it joined the huge structure of Earthforce Headquarters, which was located at the very top of the dome, along with the defence and communications systems.

After passing her identicard through the security scanner she entered the elevator up to the upper levels. The modern elevator was a lot quicker that others she had been in recently, and a few seconds later the door opened to the display the marble floors of Earthforce Headquarter. Remembering the location of the Admiral's office from her previous visit, Susan walked straight past the reception desk and down the corridor leading to her destination.

Walking into the waiting room outside the Admiral's office, she found it much the same as she remembered it. The floor was covered with a dark carpet, with the emblem of the Earth Alliance imprinted brightly in the centre. A row of chairs was down one side, while a reception desk and tired looking secretary were located opposite.

The lieutenant behind the desk looked up as she walked across the carpet towards him. "Captain Ivanova?" he asked. When she nodded he continued. "The Admiral is in an important meeting at the moment. If you will just take a seat." He indicated the row of comfortable seats along the opposite wall of the waiting room.

"Do you know why he wants to see me?" Susan asked the lieutenant, hoping to put her concerns to rest.

"I believe it is inform you of your next assignment," the lieutenant, who's badge gave his last name as Haines. "He hasn't told me what it is yet though, secrecy and all that. If you will just take a seat I am sure he will be free in a minute."

Susan nodded and sat down in one of the seats along the opposite wall, which were just as comfortable as she remembered. One of her concerns had been eased - the Admiral didn't want to sack her. Now she just had to wait and see exactly what her new assignment was to be. She hoped it was still going to involve the Rasputin, especially as Talia was still assigned to the warship as a Psi-Corp military liaison. She didn't even want to think about the possibility of being transferred right now.

She glanced up at the clock that was mounted on the wall above the desk. It gave the time as fifteen minutes to eight, which meant she still had at least half an hour before her meeting was even scheduled. With a sigh, Susan leaned back and scanned the room, looking for something interesting to keep her occupied. The paintings of several old sailing ships caught her attention, and she began to trace their outlines with her eyes as she settled back and prepared for a long wait.

 

* * *

 

I t took exactly sixty seven minutes before the Admiral was ready to see her, giving Susan plenty of time to regret her need to be punctual. Every jerky movement of the hands on the old style clock hanging on the wall opposite her chair documented her rising frustration, and adding another minute to the anxiety she'd bought with her to the meeting. Finally, just when Susan thought she was going to have to wait forever, Lieutenant Haines informed her that Admiral Mellor was ready for her now. With a sigh of relief, she hauled herself out of the comfortable black chair and walked through the wooden doors into Mellor's office.

Admiral Mellor looked much as she had seen him last, a tall, broad-shouldered man of military bearing, with dark, grey-streaked hair that was testament to his age and experience. The desk he sat behind, much like the man himself, was kept orderly and neat, with only a few important items taking up any space. The only thing that looked out of place was a small black device that was lying close to Mellor's right hand.

"Please sit down, Captain," Mellor said, recognising Susan's entrance with a genuine smile. He pushed aside the single sheet of paper he'd been working on and waved her to one of the chairs in front of the desk. "I am sorry to have kept you waiting for so long, but I had to deal with a communique from one of the newly elected senators first."

Susan, relieved to see the smile, nodded understandingly and took her place in the seat he offered. "I was a little surprised that you asked me to come here," she said, bringing up the subject that had been worrying her ever since she had received the Admiral's message back on Babylon 5. "I hope nothing is wrong."

"Not at all, Captain," he replied. "As you are still officially on leave until tomorrow, I thought I would call you in here so that, together, me might discuss some critical changes to your assignment. Also, your ship is already in orbit around Earth, so you coming to Earthdome actually saves us time - and that's an essential part of this assignment."

Susan raised her eyebrows at that piece of news. "The Rasputin is already here?"

Mellor nodded. "Yes. The repairs and alterations that the tech boys wanted done were completed last week, so I ordered her ferried here. Your crew has already returned from leave and, as soon as we are finished here, you can join them and your ship. I want this mission under way as soon as possible, so I won't be keeping you long."

"And what mission is that, Sir?" Susan asked, feeling a lot more comfortable now that she knew nothing serious was wrong, and that she had been worrying unnecessarily. As she waited for Mellor's reply, she made a mental note not to waste so much of energy and time with unresolved anxieties in the future.

"We have an important rescue mission for you, Captain," Mellor replied, a serious look suddenly transforming his face. He pushed his chair back and stood up, at the same time picking up the small control device Susan had noticed earlier. "If you will just follow me over to the map table, I will explain what you must accomplish."

Mellor walked over to the large, rectangular black table and clicking the remote control towards it, he activated the display. The table glowed faintly for a second and then a large holographic representation appeared above it, displaying the entire know galaxy. Compared to the total size of the galaxy, consisting of an estimated four hundred billion star systems, the map showed up little more than a minuscule slice. In a hundred years of exploration the Earth Alliance had only fully explored around a thousand systems, although that number was growing rapidly. Give how long it took to build new jumpgates, Susan felt a quiet pride at the achievement. All of these worlds, as well as the unexplored star systems know to belong to other regional powers, were displayed on the holographic map.

The Admiral tapped another button on the remote control a couple times and the view zoomed in showing the closer star systems, their allegiances clearly marked on the map by means of a colour code. In the centre was a small patch of blue, representing the fourteen colonised systems of the Earth Alliance. Clustered around Earth's territory were the other empires, the Centauri, the Minbari, and finally the smaller powers like the Narn and the Drazi. Dominating much of the map though, was a broad swath of green, the unexplored dominion of the now abandoned Vorlon Empire. Perhaps as many as two hundred stars fell within the Empire's borders, although no-one knew for sure just how much territory the Vorlons had controlled.

Activating a thin beam of light that shot out from the remote control, Admiral Mellor highlighted a section of the Vorlon Empire closest to the Earth Alliance border, just barely over a week's jump away. He zoomed the map inwards again, this time showing only a few of the border worlds, including one that was flashing brightly. "This is the world we are interested in," he said to Susan, who had by now joined him at the map table.

"Is that system inside Vorlon space?" she asked cautiously.

"That is correct, Captain," Mellor replied, as he zoomed in the map further just to just display that system, then again until only a single world was shown. "The world of Arias. Actually it's full name is Arias Va, but the world we are interested in is the only habitable planet in the system, so therefore, the only one of concern to us at the moment."

"And you want me to lead a rescue mission... there?" Susan asked incredulously. "Go inside Vorlon Space? To that world?"

Mellor nodded. "Yes, to rescue an Interplanetary Expeditions survey ship which has gone missing on the planet."

Susan frowned. "Isn't that going to be very dangerous? No ship entering Vorlon space has ever returned, and if anything, this disappearance only reinforces the danger. The Vorlon's might be gone, but no-one knows what they left behind."

"I assure you, there is only minimal danger," Mellor promised her. "IPX sent out a probe eight months ago, and it did a full survey of the solar system. It reported no colony, active or abandoned, within the system, and located no planetary defensive systems of any kind. They would not have followed it up with a manned mission, unless they thought it was safe."

"With respect, Admiral, I would disagree. I have had some experience with IPX before. In my opinion, they never check anything thoroughly. That incident with the alien probe we found in hyperspace near Babylon 5 should be more than enough to convince everyone to stay well clear when IPX is around."

"I have been assured that was an isolated incident, Captain," Mellor said, a frown beginning to spread across his face in response to her arguments. "Anyway, we don't have much choice. Earthforce has been asked by the President to look into this matter personally, apparently there was a relative of hers on board the survey vessel. When it was mentioned that your ship was available, she asked for you personally."

"What is the exact mission then?" she asked with a sigh, realising that arguing wasn't going to get the mission cancelled. If she refused, she was likely to be relieved of her position, and someone else would just be sent in her place. Besides, she could hardly ignore a personal request from the President.

Mellor nodded, as if pleased with Susan's change of attitude. He turned off the image of the map and walked over to a wall mounted vid screen instead. Once there he said, "Computer, display file IPX 1a." The screen blinked into life, the Earthforce logo vanishing, replaced by the image of a small survey vessel. "This is the Sturt, a long range survey vessel commissioned by IPX three years ago. It has a crew of a hundred and seventy, mostly scientists, but also carrying three telepaths hired from Psi-Corps especially for this mission. It set out from Io just over five weeks ago, and to start with, all went well. Then, two weeks into the mission, IPX headquarters in New York received a message from the Sturt saying that they were going to make planetfall."

"I assume no-one has heard anything from them since," Susan cut in, already imagining where this story was going to end.

"Not exactly, Captain," Mellor said, not seeming at all troubled by her interruption. "For the next two weeks messages were received daily from the planet, but then, at the start of last week, a distress call was received by one of our listening posts along the border. Since then... nothing but static."

"How do you know anyone is still alive?" Susan asked. "If they sent a distress call, then they may already be dead."

"Well..." Mellor paused, as if he was considering her question. "Perhaps it would be easier to explain if I let you hear the distress call," he said finally, turning back to the screen. "Computer play file IPX 1b."

The screen changed to show the flickering image of a man, at least Susan thought it was a man, the image quality was so poor it could have been anything. "...elp us. The cre... Arias is..." the sender's voice said, the meaning of the words impossible to determine. 

"This isn't much..." Susan began, before Mellor held up his hand to interrupt her.

On the screen the image had quality improved markedly, and it was now possible to see that it was indeed a man who was talking. The speaker was maybe forty years old, with reddish-blonde hair and a neatly trimmed beard. He was wearing a civilian flight suit, but the gold wings of his shoulder informed Susan that he was, at the very least, a pilot. "...energy drain to all systems. We request emergency assistance. Repeating, an unknown force has drained all reserves of energy from the ship's systems..." Another burst of static cut into the recording before it stabilised again. "...made a forced landing inside the cloud covered region. Power is low, and our solar recharging systems are now almost useless. We predict complete failure of all ship's...."

"Is that it?" Susan asked, as the screen changed to flickering static, the rest of the message lost.

Mellor nodded. "That all that was received. I have had some of the tech boys go over it, and IPX has investigated it as well. Both think that what happened is that the planet somehow caused a slow energy drain on the Sturt's systems, gradually cutting into their energy reserves. Then by the time the crew noticed it, too much had already been drained. They probably tried to take off, but were unable to get out of the gravity well and were forced down again."

Susan nodded slowly, although she still wasn't sure the explanation that IPX had come up with was the correct one. Arias was, after all, a Vorlon world, which meant that anything could have been housed, stored, or hidden on it. The Vorlon's were still the most mysterious known race, even if they had left the galaxy. "What about this energy drain," she asked. "Do you have any information about it? I wouldn't want a rescue shuttle to get trapped as well."

"IPX doesn't have any exact information about it, but they believe it may be only slow acting."

"What do they base that assumption on?" Susan queried suspiciously.

"The fact that the Sturt was on the planet for two weeks without any problems," Mellor said. Then he frowned, "I thought that you would have worked that out yourself, Captain."

"With the Vorlons, nothing is ever that straightforward or simple," Susan told him.

"Which is why we are sending you, Captain." Mellor said. "You have the most experienced of any Earthforce officer in relation to the Vorlons. That, and the fact that your ship is available at the moment. We want this rescue carried out as soon as possible."

Susan looked less than pleased by that fact. "What exactly do you want the Rasputin to do, Admiral?" she asked. "It is a warship, and is not really cut out for exploration and rescue missions. Perhaps another survey vessel would be better suited, or even and Explorer ship, if one is available."

Admiral Mellor nodded his agreement. "Perhaps, but your ship is the fastest, and most heavily armed Earthforce vessel within range at the moment. IPX is sending a team along as well, to assist you with the rescue."

"Are you sure that is wise, Admiral?" Susan queried, her frown growing deeper by the minute. "IPX has a tendency to try and take over everything it is involved in, and they rarely follow orders. I have had some experience with the company before."

"I have been given assurances by the director of the company himself that they will obey any orders given to them by Earthforce personal," Mellor promised her. "I don't think this mission would be possible without the technical expertise they will bring, as well as the equipment they are supplying. The Rasputin is primarily a warship, so it doesn't have any of the larger atmospheric capable shuttles needed for this mission, or the rovers and specialists that IPX will be supplying."

Susan nodded, conceding that point. She had been wondering how the Rasputin was going to rescue a possible hundred and seventy survivors in its four, small atmospheric capable shuttles. "I assume all of these specialists and their equipment are already on board?" she asked.

Mellor nodded. "Almost all," he replied. "I believe there is just a couple more shuttle loads of equipment to bring on board, and then everything will be ready. In fact, as soon as you get back to your ship, you should be nearly ready to leave. I have a shuttle waiting for you at our base at Nyon." He paused, as if considering something, before adding. "That's just north of Geneva, along the northern shore of the lake."

Susan's frown returned. "Wouldn't it have been quicker just to say all this in the message you sent me, especially if time is so important."

"Not really, Captain," Mellor said. "Besides, we don't really want this getting out to the news networks just yet. I am not sure that you know this yet, but while you were away there was a big scandal after one of the networks hacked into the Earthforce secure channels and started downloading sensitive material. Those responsible have been apprehended, but until a complete security check can be done, we can't rely on the secure channels for important messages. Of course, this hardly qualifies as an important communication or briefing, but I thought you wouldn't mind the trip to Geneva." 

"I see," Susan replied. "Is there anything else then, Sir? If not, I would like to return to my ship as soon as possible and begin this mission."

"Nothing else, Captain," Mellor said. "My adjutant, Lieutenant Haines, has a copy of all the important information relating to this mission, including a copy of the message we received, profiles of all the IPX crew and data on the Sturt herself. The only other thing I have to say, apart from good luck of course, is not to put your ship and crew into too much danger over this rescue. While I would prefer it if you returned with all one hundred and seventy of the Sturt's crew alive, I would be most upset if you don't return at all. I guess what I am trying to say is to try as hard as you can to succeed, but not at the risk of your ship."

"Understood, Sir," Susan said, with a smart salute.

Mellor returned her salute. "Good luck then, Captain."

Susan nodded and left the Admiral's office. As she went back into the waiting room, she felt more than a little annoyed at being summoned all the way to Earth just to receive a mission briefing. Then her thoughts drifted to Talia, and she remembered that they still had to meet for lunch. Somehow, that thought managed to dissolve her feelings of annoyance and by the time she left Earthforce Headquarters, her pockets weighed down with several new data crystals, Susan was even smiling, and really looking forward to lunch.

 

* * *

 

The Bluewater Cafe was one of a myriad of small restaurants and cafes along the shore of Lake Geneva. It was a small, but cosy structure built right on the edge of the lake. The side of the restaurant that faced the lake was made almost entirely of glass, allowing an unrestricted view across the lake, a view totally unspoiled by any other structure. Made of the same artificial, white stone as most of the other structures in the city, it was an attractive building. Its appearance was also improved by a large number of climbing vines, many just beginning to flower, that were encouraged to climb up the outside of the building.

The Restaurant was located some distance from Earthdome, in the eastern half of what is called the old city. This meant that it catered mainly to tourists and other visitors, and certainly not the crowds of office workers that were common in the restaurants closer to the dome. While this might normally be bad for business the Bluewater Cafe kept its customers returning through good service and even better food.

By the time Susan arrived from Earthdome, most of the tables were already filled. She quickly scanned around the dining room, and had no trouble spotting Talia. The blonde telepath was sitting alone at a table right at the far end of the room, overlooking the waters of the lake below. After making her way across the room, Susan sat down at the table, trying not to look as though she had been hurrying to get here before the midday crush, which of course she had been.

Talia looked up at Susan's arrival, thinking it was the waiter coming to take her order. Instead, when she saw Susan, her face broke out in a happy smile. "That didn't take you long," she said as Susan leaned down and kissed her. "I thought you said it was going to take all day."

"It didn't turn out like that," Susan replied, taking the seat opposite. "The Admiral only wanted to give my a briefing on the Rasputin's next mission."

"Isn't that what I said last night?" Talia said teasingly, reminding Susan of the conversation of the previous night.

Susan nodded. "I know, I was worrying about nothing. The Admiral said something about a breach in the gold channel security system as the reason he summoned me to Earthdome instead of sending a message direct."

Talia nodded, and her face grew serious. "I know. I read an article about that in the Psi-Corps journal," she said, before lowering her voice so that none of the other restaurant patrons could hear her. "It said that the breach was from inside Earthdome. The rumour is that one of the smaller Earth nations forced to join the Alliance during Clark's reign sold passwords to one of the news networks."

<I didn't hear that,> Susan replied telepathically, not wanting anyone around them to catch even a portion of what they were discussing.  <I heard that the news network hacked into the system. At least that was what Admiral Mellor told me. I didn't ask which network though.>

<I think it was one of the South American ones, the article didn't say with one though. I think they are trying to keep everything hushed up.> Talia paused and then continued aloud. "What do you want to order."

"The trout," Susan replied, pointing out the item on the menu. "You should to try it as well."

Talia nodded and, accepting Susan's recommendation, she signalled for the waiter to come over. Once he had taken their orders and left, she turned back to Susan and asked, "so, what did the Admiral want?"

Susan looked a little annoyed at the mention of Mellor. "A rescue mission," she replied. "We have to go and rescue an Interplanetary Expedition's ship that has gone missing just inside Vorlon space."

"It sounds like it could interesting," Talia commented.

"And dangerous," Susan added. "The Vorlon's aren't likely to leave one of their world's undefended, and the fact that a vessel has already been disabled, or perhaps even destroyed there, makes me even more concerned."

"I am sure we'll be fine," Talia said, with an almost hidden smile.

"We?" Susan asked. "Does that mean you are still assigned to the Rasputin?"

Talia nodded happily. "Yes, at least up until the end of the year anyway. Psi-Corps isn't going to send anyone else to replace Anderson either."

"That is a relief," Susan said. "I was worried they would reassign you or something." Before Talia could reply the waiter arrived with their meals. Susan made a move towards her credit chit, knowing Talia had very little money in her account, but to her surprise Talia already had hers in her hand. "I thought you didn't have any money," Susan said as soon as the waiter had left.

"I do now," Talia replied, slipping the credit chit back into a pocket. "I checked with Psi-Corp and it seems they owed me payment for the work I did on Mars. My memories from that time are still a little vague so I didn't know about it."

Susan nodded understandingly, realising that Talia was talking about a period when her mind had still been under the control of the Psi-Corps implanted personality. After her real personality had been freed, the memories of the past two and a half years had become vague, and, thankfully, somewhat unreal. Talia occasionally had trouble remembering the smaller details of what had occurred. Many of the memories she did remember, were of things she would sooner forget, especially the searingly painful recollections of the experiments Psi-Corps had conducted on her shortly after she had left Babylon 5.

"They didn't ask you about... ?" Susan asked, her words trailing off as she was unable to finish the sentence.

Talia shook her head. "No, they still think I am the same as I was when I left Mars, and because they can't scan me..." Talia left the rest unsaid, knowing that Susan already knew what she meant. The gift Jason Ironheart had left in her mind had done a lot more than just increase her telepathic abilities, it had also allowed her to hide away her thoughts from anyone. Even a powerful Psi-Cop couldn't break through her block, if she didn't want him to.

Susan smiled, leaving her meal untouched for the moment. "I guess that means we have the rest of the year together, and hopefully this mission will be over without any trouble."

"I certainly hope so," Talia replied. She leaned a little closer, her hand creeping across the table to softly stroke Susan's. "When do we leave?"

"There is a shuttle waiting at the Earthforce base north of the city," Susan replied, a shiver running through her at Talia's gentle touch. "I said I would be there by fourteen hundred."

Talia pulled her hand away, and glanced down at her watch. "We had better finish lunch then. Otherwise we are going to miss that shuttle."

Susan nodded, more than a little disappointed as Talia pulled away. "I wish we had more time," she said wistfully. "This is a such a nice place to eat, and the food is really great."

"Mm, it certainly is," Talia replied between mouthfuls of fish. Her eyes opened wide at the wonderfully subtle tapestry of tastes that built with every bite. "This sauce is incredible."

Susan just smiled, and began her own meal, although she seemed to spend more time watching Talia enjoy her meal, than she spent enjoying hers. She really prized the moments they had together, and knew that being back in command of the Rasputin meant she would probably be seeing Talia only when she was off duty. After three wonderful weeks of spending almost all their time together, it was going to be difficult to adjust to the protocols and regimens of her warship. Still, she felt a lot better knowing that Talia was going to be along with her. Susan didn't know how she would have coped if Talia had been reassigned, and taken away from her again. As long as Talia was with her she knew she could survive anything, do anything, just as long as she could go to bed at night with Talia's beautiful body cradled against hers.

 

* * *

 

Like some tiny insect, the Earthforce shuttle manoeuvred its way through the crowded space above Earth. Construction platforms for the new defence grid dominated the lower orbits, while swarming above them was a large number of small shuttles, and the looming shapes of several Omega Class destroyers on patrol. The shuttle ignored all of these vessels, and wove its way towards the largest of the warships above the planet, the silver-hulled EAS Rasputin.

From her seat in the shuttle's passenger cabin, Susan examined the warship with a critical eye. The monitor in front of her had been set to allow a perfect view of the Rasputin as the shuttle manoeuvred toward the warship's shuttle bay. What she saw impressed her greatly, for the battle wounds and scars had been erased in the repair yards at Io. Gone were the dark patches on the hull where the thin outer skin had been shattered during the battle above Proxima III. Also, the missing solar panels had been replaced, leaving the ship looking as good as the day Susan had first taken command.

Not that the Rasputin was actually that old. In fact, less than two months had passed since it had been commissioned, but considering the battle it had been through, it was looking surprisingly unblemished. There were no signs of any of the alterations that the Admiral had mentioned, but Susan imagined she would soon be given a full report by her executive officer, assuming he was still on board. Her internal security protocols, hard lessons learned during the dangerous years abroad Babylon 5, had helped her decide that something as innocuous as a review of the crew lists should wait until she was safely aboard her ship. 'That's taking security more than one step into the paranoid,' she thought to herself. A mirthless smile crossed her face as Susan recognised that she might need a retrofit as well.

The shuttle shuddered slightly, and the hull of the Rasputin vanished off the monitor, indicating that the small vessel was beginning to brake in preparation for its docking manoeuvres. Susan checked the thin strap that held her in place, making sure it was still secure. That worry out of the way, she glanced over at Talia, the only other passenger on board. Talia looked a little nervous, as she always did when flying on anything as small as a shuttle. Susan gave her a reassuring smile and then settled back to wait for the docking sequence to deposit their ride in the Rasputin's main shuttle bay.

Less than a minute, she was home, and the feeling of weightlessness began to fade away as the shuttle came under the effect of the Rasputin's artificial gravity system. Although she was now free to undo the strap that held her to her seat, Susan chose not to do so until the shuttle came to rest in the main bay, just in case. There were no accidents though, and as soon as the outer door opened she made her way down the ladder into the shuttle bay, pausing only briefly to help Talia down.

At the bottom of the steps, his arms full of data pads, was her executive officer, Commander Gregor Petrov. His tall, lanky frame was unchanged from the last time she had seen him, and he looked just as unwavering in his posture as always. "Captain," he said in his normal neutral tone of voice. "Good to have you back."

"Good to be back, Commander," she replied, before looking around to see what, if anything, had changed in the shuttle bay since she had last been here, just under three weeks ago. One thing, or rather two very large things, stood out at once. Gone were the standard Phoenix Class shuttles, and in their place where two new vessels, both large atmospheric shuttles with civilian markings.

"They are the IPX shuttles," Petrov explained, noticing her interest in the new arrivals. He passed across one of his many data pads. "All the information on the equipment they have bought on board is right here."

"You know about our mission then?" Susan asked.

Petrov nodded. "I was informed of the basics at a meeting with Admiral Mellor two days ago. Since then, I have been working with Dr. Melis from Interplanetary Expeditions, mainly helping him store all the equipment his team seems to need. All the information is on that data pad, along with a few personal notes."

"Thank you, Commander," Susan replied, flipping through the first few pages of information, before shutting down the data pad and tucking it under one arm. "I will take a look at it later." She turned around to face Talia, who was waiting patiently behind her. "I will probably be some time," she told her companion apologetically.

Talia looked sympathetic. "I will go and unpack, then." She then turned around to face Petrov, who was standing quietly watching the two women. "Did our luggage arrive from Io?" she asked.

Petrov nodded in confirmation. "Yes, it came in this morning, on a shuttle full of crew members returning from leave. I have sent your bags up to the guest room you had before, and the Captain's to her quarters.”

"Thank you, Commander," Talia replied, looking pleased. She had been concerned about the bags they had bought back on the liner from Babylon 5. The trip had already been booked, so when Admiral Mellor's message had arrived, there had not been time to transfer them to one bound for Earth. Instead, as they made last minute plans to catch an Earthforce shuttle, their luggage made an unaccompanied trip to the Rasputin. After learning that the warship had been sent on to Earth, both women had been concerned about the "lost" luggage, Talia especially, as most of the clothes she owned had been in her bags.

"I will see you later, Susan," Talia said, her voice and facial expressions leaving no doubt as to just where she would be meeting the Rasputin's Captain. She followed up her words with a gentle mental caress, just so Susan knew she was thinking about her. 

Susan smiled faintly as she felt Talia's feelings in her mind, and then nodded. "I will try not to be too long." Talia signalled her approval and left, Susan's eyes following her as she made her way across the platform towards the elevators to the upper decks. Her vision, however, was soon blocked a large man in an expensive looking business suit who appeared out of nowhere and started waving a data pad angrily at Petrov.

"Commander," the tall man was saying. "I demand to know why my team has been forced to share rooms. This is an intolerable arrangement! Why, some of the rooms have four bunks in them. How can we be expected to work under these conditions."

"I believe you will find that they are all that is available," Susan cut in, just before Petrov was about to explain the situation. "This is a warship; not a star liner. The rooms your team had been given are some of the best on the ship." Actually she didn't know this for sure, but assumed that Petrov would assign the civilians to empty quarters on deck 6, which were much like the rest of the crew quarters.

The man, who's name-tag read Dr. Melis, looked a extremely annoyed by her interruption, and was about to respond, when he noticed her rank and bit off the words he had been about to utter. "Captain Ivanova?" he queried. She nodded in confirmation and his manner changed completely, becoming almost obsequious, especially when compared to the way he had been shouting at Petrov. "I was not informed that you had arrived."

"I have only just returned from Earth," she informed him. "I haven't had time to make a formal announcement yet."

He nodded, missing the hint of sarcasm in her last sentence. "I am Dr. Jack Melis, head of the IPX rescue mission." He stuck out his hand for Susan to shake, which she did. 

As their hand touched briefly, Susan allowed the walls inside her mind to lower just a little, attempting to pick up on what kind of man he was. The emotion she felt was very strange indeed, part greed, part respect, and mixed in were several other, darker emotions. In other words, Dr. Melis was a strange creature indeed, and Susan didn't know quite what to make of him. She wasn't about to let that get in the way of her annoyance at his presence though. "Are all of your team on board?" she asked.

"Yes, but..." Melis said.

Susan cut him off. "And all your equipment has been stowed away securely?"

"The last shuttle just arrived," Melis replied, his moustache appearing to quiver as he spoke. "I did want to talk about..."

"Then you can tell your team that we will be leaving within the hour," she informed him, again cutting the doctor off before he could finish his sentence. She turned back to Petrov. "I assume all of our crew are on board," she asked.

He nodded. "All present and accounted for, Captain. We even have a full compliment of replacements for the pilots and marines we lost at Proxima. You were the last to arrive."

She nodded. "Then we have work to do. Commander, I want to see you on the bridge as soon as possible. I want to go over a few things before we depart." She turned back and glared at the Melis. "Doctor, I think you should return to your quarters for now. If you have any questions, you can direct them to the shuttle bay duty officer. I will be available from eighteen hundred hours tonight, if you wish to schedule a appointment."

"But..." he tried to argue, his face turning red with frustration at the way he was being treated.

Susan wasn't taking any notice. "Commander," she said, saluting Petrov.

"I'll be along in a couple of minutes," he replied, with an answering Salute.

With a brief nod, Susan left Melis still standing around looking a little confused. Petrov quickly took advantage of the doctor's astonishment to make a quick escape. He looked at Melis and shrugged, as if to say his captain's behaviour was out of his hands, and then he ran off to catch up with her, just as she was walking beneath one of the huge IPX shuttles. "Thanks, Captain," he said. "I have been having trouble with him all day."

"Well if he gives you any more, lock him in the brig," she replied, only half joking. Then more serious she added, "this mission is going to be enough trouble without civilians trying to give orders. Remember that this ship is a military vessel, therefore all Earthforce personal outrank the civilian passengers, no matter how loudly they shout."

"I will circulate a memo to the crew," Petrov said. "Is there anything else you would like to add, perhaps something about our mission."

"You mean the crew haven't been informed yet?" Susan asked, a frown creeping across her face.

"Not yet, Captain," Petrov replied as they reached the elevators. "They know the basics of the mission, but not the exact destination. Dr. Melis thought it best, as it was a classified exploration mission."

She pressed the button that signalled the elevator. "Then send out all the necessary information to senior officers," she replied, as the elevator doors opened and both officers stepped inside. "We don't know exactly what we are going to encounter on this Vorlon world. So, at least as far as I am concerned, the more people we have clued in and working on this the better. I will schedule a meeting for all senior officers in the conference room tomorrow morning to discuss the mission, and, given where we are heading, make what contingency plans we can."

"Shall I invite Dr. Melis," Petrov asked, before turning to the elevator's computer. "Deck one." The doors closed and a slight hum signalled the beginning of their journey up to the command deck.

"Yes," Susan replied as the elevator ended its journey. "As well as any others of his team that you think might be useful. I want to make sure about this one. Admiral Mellor seemed to think we should have little trouble rescuing this survey vessel, but I am not so certain. This is a Vorlon world we are talking about here."

"And no expedition has ever returned from the Vorlon's Empire," Petrov finished for her.

"That is correct, Commander," Susan said, as the elevator doors opened and they both stepped out, heading for the bridge. "However, this world is only just inside Vorlon space and there aren’t any Vorlon’s around any more I can hope that also means there are no defences waiting to destroy us as soon as we arrive."

"I thought the IPX probe reported that there were no defensive systems in operation around the planet."

Susan nodded in confirmation. "The information I saw said that. However, I have learned not to trust reports like that, especially when it comes to the Vorlons. There is still a lot we don't know about them, and will probably never learn. So for the duration of this mission, I suggest we treat everything we encounter very cautiously indeed. The Admiral was quite clear with me that the safety of the ship comes first and you can be sure I will pull the plug on this mission if I think there is anything that endangers us."

Petrov signalled his understanding, and noted that comment down on a data pad, nearly dropping three others in the process. He managed to catch them in time though, and gather the stack back up into a neat pile. "Information for all the senior officers," he explained, recognising the unvoiced question in Susan's stare. "I thought it would be useful to prepare a information package for everyone, as a preliminary mission brief."

"Are all the senior officers on board?" Susan asked, realising that she hadn't seen anyone except Petrov and the crew down in the shuttle bay.

He nodded. "All except Dr. Kozlowski, but he won't be returning. Major Logan and Lt. Commander Schmitt are currently down in the hanger bay I believe. Lt. Commander Moore is in engineering, and the last time I saw Lt. Commander Dreyer he was heading off to test the main gun's targeting systems, to see if the repairs have been completed correctly." He paused for a second before adding, "that was two days ago."

“Well you had better round them up. I will need to see all of them in the conference room tomorrow morning," Susan said, before considering the exact details of what she wanted to discuss. "Let's make it ten hundred hours, tomorrow. Actually on second thoughts don't worry about informing everyone, I will personally send a message to each of them tonight."

"What would you like me to do in the meantime?" Petrov asked, as they reached the closed doors leading onto the bridge.

Susan paused in front of the doors. "You can continue with what you are already doing. That should do for now. I want to make sure everyone if ready for whatever we might face when we get to Arias. I am hoping that there won't be any problems, but it never pays to be too careful."

"Understood," he replied, reaching out and pressing his thumb again the control that opened the bridge doors. 

Susan noticed the difference immediately. Before the doors had required a passcard to open them, but now they had a new lock that seemed to require physical contact before it would open. "That's new," she commented to Petrov as they made their way onto the bridge.

Her executive officer nodded. "That is one of the minor alterations that have been made during the three weeks we had off," he said as the two officers made their way across to the command station, ignoring the junior officer who leapt to attention and announced Susan's arrival. 

Susan tossed off a quick, "As you were," and returned her attention to Commander Petrov's explanation.

"It is a small genetic scanner that reads your DNA and matches it to the record on file." He paused, and then smiled for the first time since Susan had arrived. "It keeps unwanted guests out."

Susan looked pleased with the improvement. "Were the new locks installed across the entire ship?" she asked.

Petrov shook his head. "No, just along the command deck. Earthforce R&D wants a field trial for them, before they become standard."

"I gather there is some way to allow more DNA codes to be accepted by each lock?" Susan asked as she took her seat, remembering that she had given Talia the old passcard for her quarters, which was, of course, now useless.

"Quite easily, Captain," Petrov replied. The information is on the computer in your office, along with all the other reports about the new improvements and upgrades the technicians made during the repairs.

"Where there many?"

"Not a lot," Petrov said. "The main change has been upgrades to some of the software for the sensors and the weapons systems. According to the report I got, they are supposed to have ironed out some of the bugs they detected after looking over the data from the battle, although I have my doubts. Three weeks isn’t long enough to make any major software changes in my opinion."

"So we are still being used as guinea pigs," Susan said with a faint smile, as she looked around the bridge. At least nothing there had changed, the bridge crew looking as familiar as before. She noticed they were all sneaking glances up at the command officers, as if trying to determine what the Rasputin's new mission was. Susan wondered what they would think when they found out. 

Susan glanced down at her console, and noting that the trip from Earth had taken nearly an hour. She looked up again. "Is everything ready for departure, Commander?"

"Yes, Captain," he replied. "All of the crew are ready to go. The IPX team probably aren't happy, but then I doubt they will ever be completely happy. Apart from that, we can depart as soon as you like."

Susan looked over at Lieutenant Heneker, noting that the red-haired woman had managed to somehow pick up a nice tan during her three weeks leave. "Do we have clearance to depart orbit?" she asked the communication officer.

Heneker quickly checked with Earth Central traffic control. "We are clear to depart, Captain," she replied, as soon as the console in front of her reported on the Rasputin's status.

Susan turned around towards Petrov again. "Do you have our destination's coordinates?" she asked. When he nodded she continued, "give them to navigation then."

Petrov nodded again, and hurried down to sunken forward section. As he passed on the information to the navigation officer she pressed the control that would allow her to address the entire crew. "This is Captain Ivanova," she said, trying to sound as authoritative as she could. "We are preparing to leave Earth orbit. All department heads, report current status." That message sent, she sat back and watched the console in front of her as a series of green lights appeared on the screen, as each section of the warship lit up its readiness.

By the time all the lights had appeared, all green fortunately, Petrov had returned. "Navigation reports that coordinates have been entered into the computer."

Susan nodded, looking up from her console, and over at the Rasputin's helmsman. "Helm, take us out of orbit. When we are clear of Earth's gravity, and any nearby ships, activate the jump engines."

"Aye, Aye, Captain," was the helmsman's response, as he turned his attention to his console.

Susan leaned back against her soft, padded chair and watched as the other nearby vessels, all visible on the bridge's holographic display screen, slowly slipped away. It took less than five minutes before the warship had left Earth space and entered the chaotic realm of Hyperspace. "Hopefully, we didn't leave anyone behind," Susan said as the navigation officer set course for the distant Hyperspace beacon that corresponded to their destination.

"You don't need to worry about that, Captain," Petrov assured her. "I made sure everyone was on board, either in their quarters, or at their posts, before you arrived. Anyway, urgency is important in rescue missions."

"Assuming there is still someone left to rescue," Susan mused.

"You think they are all dead," Petrov asked with a surprised look.

Susan nodded slowly. "I think it is a possibility. But, even if they are, we will still do our best to find them and bring them back. That is our mission, after all."

Petrov nodded his agreement, and leaned back against the railing that bordered the raised command section. "All we can do is follow our orders," he agreed.

Susan didn't reply. Instead, she just looked out at the mists of Hyperspace. The swirling red mists seemed to clutch at the Rasputin's hull as it ploughed onwards towards its distant destination. The warship barely even appeared to be moving, but Susan knew that they were travelling at over half a light year every hour. If they returned to real space now, Earth would just be a distant sphere, and with every second they went further and further into the unknown, away from the security of home and towards the dangers of the abandoned worlds of the Vorlon Empire.

Glancing over at her executive officer Susan wondered if he was thinking the same thing as he stared at the holographic display that covered the ceiling of the bridge. Her mind soon turned away from speculation; focusing instead on the tough mission that lay ahead. She knew it wasn't going to be easy, regardless of what the Admiral's assurances. As she had told Mellor in their meeting, nothing about the Vorlon's was ever that simple. All Susan could hope for was that she was able to rescue the survivors, assuming there were any, and make it out alive.

 

* * *

 

On the world of Arias, the Rasputin's destination, Alex Kurmis huddled beneath a crumbling log, trying to avoid the creatures he knew were searching for him. They had already killed the rest of the scouting party, or at least that is what he assumed had happened. As soon as the attack had started he had fled, but the screams of his two companions left little doubt in his mind as to what had occurred. He hadn't stuck around to find out for sure, running as fast as he could towards the swamp, and the raft that would hopefully carry him to freedom.

Now, as he hid from the aliens searching for him, Alex cursed the day he accepted the job with IPX. He should have know better, but when he read the advertisement in the Psi-Corps journal asking for telepaths, he had let his greed get the better of him. Now here he was, being hunted across some alien swamp by god only knew what, all because he had wanted to earn a few extra credits and get to see the galaxy at the same time.

A loud cracking sound echoed across the dank swamp, reaching his ears despite the continuous buzzing from the myriad of insects and reptilian life that seemed to make the still waters of the swamp their home. Alex glanced up, looking over the black water towards the massive shape of the survey ship, which rested undamaged in the middle of the swamp. Closer to him, only a few metres away, was the small raft the scouting party had used to cross the swamp. One quick dash and he would be there.

He steeled his nerves and prepared to chance his luck, anything to get out of the swamp and back into the relative security of the ship. Then a fluttering sound reached his ears. He looked up, straight into the gleaming green eyes of a small bird-like creature, its feathery wings disguising its reptilian origin. Using his telepathic powers, Alex reached out, trying to scare the bird into flying off, to prevent it from giving away his location to the aliens that hunting him through the dark jungle.

He sighed with relief as the creature watching him flapped its wings wildly and flew away over the swamp. Then he heard the sounds of something large approaching him from behind. Summoning the last of his courage he leapt up from his hiding place and ran as fast as he could towards the raft, almost falling as he stumbled across the soggy black soil. The distant radiance from the survey ship's emergency lights were the only illumination in this dark hell, but it was just enough for him to find his way to the small raft.

With an almost Herculean effort, he hurled himself in the direction of the raft, hoping his momentum would be enough to shove it into the water, and away from the monsters he imagined were bearing down on him. It wasn't. Instead, he slid straight across the raft's smooth plastic surface and into the foul smelling waters of the swamp. Gasping for air, and spitting out the water he had almost swallowed, Alex looked back at the raft to see why it hadn't moved.

Sticking through one corner was a large spear, made of a yellow-green metal, a metal that glowed faintly despite the complete lack of light in the immediate vicinity. It had been driven straight through the hard plastic of the raft and deep into the ground below, securing the raft firmly. A loud crashing noise sounded from the edge of the rotting jungle and the creature that had thrown the spear came into view. Alex barely even had time to scream before the huge alien monster leapt towards him, one hand outstretched, with four incredibly sharp claws reaching for the telepath's throat. 

* * *

 


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER TWO   


 

* * *

 

April 1, 2262, Arias System.

Susan seemed to exude an aura of confidence as she sat in the command chair, slowly sipping from a cup of coffee. Despite this calm outward appearance, she found herself caught between anticipation and dread over what they would discover at Arias, now just ten minutes Hyperspace travel away. Shortly, the red mists of Hyperspace would be broken by the orange vortex of the jump point, and the Rasputin would be plunged into the unknown.

Over the past six days she had scheduled a series of meetings and discussion sessions among her senior officers and members of the Interplanetary Expeditions team, with the purpose of investigating every detail of the information available to them. Despite this effort, she still didn't know much more than what Admiral Mellor had told her back on Earth. This was a major source of her concern, knowing that soon the Rasputin would be arriving in a system they knew almost nothing about.

She scrutinised Petrov, trying to determine what he was feeling, but the Commander was as impassive as always. "How long until we are ready to open a jump point?" she asked him, trying to ease the tension that had built up in the bridge crew. The rest of the officers and crewmen on the bridge looked nervous and agitated, and the lightest of telepathic scans confirmed they, too, were worried about what was waiting on the other side of the vortex.

"Just under five minutes now, Captain," her executive officer replied, looking down at the console in front of him. He was down in the aft bridge area, supervising the sensors and the navigation computers.

She nodded, turning back to face the front of the bridge. "All right everyone listen up," she ordered. "We don't know exactly what is out there, so I want everyone ready just in case. We are coming in on the opposite side of the gas giant as our destination, but just in case I want the jump engines kept on line for an emergency escape."

The small bridge crew signalled their readiness, and hunched over the computer consoles, preparing for the arrival back in real space. Susan sat back and watched the holographic display. The seconds seem to creep by, although the lack of any visible chronometer spared her from having to watch as each individual second passed. Finally the helmsmen called out, informing Susan and everyone else on the bridge that the Rasputin had reached the Hyperspace junction corresponding to the coordinates for Arias.

"Activate jump engines," she said calmly, trying to ignore the strong feeling of trepidation that was welling up inside her.

The helmsman pressed a control on his panel, transferring the huge amounts of energy needed to open a jump point from the reactors into the jump engines. A spark of orange light appeared in front of the ship, and moments later the powerful warship exited the chaos of Hyperspace and was flung back into real space.

Directly ahead of them a huge, bluish-white sphere leapt out of the darkness, seeming to be on a direct collision course. Then the Rasputin exited the Hyperspace vortex, decelerating to its normal speed and entering a high orbit above the massive gas giant. Susan examined the world briefly as her eyes swept across the space in front of them, searching for any visible enemies. 

It was a calm looking world compared to most gas giants, with fluffy white clouds drifting quietly about in the upper atmosphere, while far below were dark blue clouds of tiny ice particles and inert gases. It was a beautiful scene, a peaceful, tranquil world floating in the darkness of space like some multicoloured crystal globe. Had Susan been sightseeing, this was the kind of planet that seemed to invite leisurely investigation. Instead she had other, more important, concerns to deal with.

"Any targets located," she asked, turning around in her chair to face Petrov, who was busily examining the sensor readouts, his hands tapping the keyboard as he bought up the information requested.

"Nothing yet, Captain," he replied, looking up from his console for a second.

"How long until we come within sensor range of Arias itself?"

Petrov called up the requested information on his screen. "At this speed?" 

Susan nodded in confirmation. 

"Eleven minutes then. I am extending passive sensor range to maximum. That should allow us to spot anything before they see us."

"Unless they have better sensors or are actively searching for us," Susan muttered darkly to herself as she turned back to face the bow. Petrov heard her comment, but chose not to comment, instead just smiling faintly to himself.

On the main screen the sphere of Arias Five was rotating slowly below them, now beginning to darken on one side as the warship moved towards the part of the planet facing away from the sun. While she waited for their destination to come into view, Susan opened her mind and reached out to find Talia.  <How are things up there,> she asked telepathically, the strong connection between the two women enabling them to communicate no matter where they were on the ship.

<Dr. Melis and his team are busy examining the gas giant,> Talia replied, from her current location in the pilot's ready room, positioned in the bow of the warship. Susan had allowed the IPX team to set up their equipment there, mainly so they were well out of her way.  <It's really beautiful, isn't it.>

Susan smiled to herself, and for the first time since they entered the system she recognised the beauty of the world they were orbiting.  <It is rather pretty,> she agreed. Then she noticed a small dark sphere appearing on the horizon of the gas giant.  <Looks like I have to sign off. Make sure those scientists don't drive you insane.>

She felt Talia's amusement in her mind as she turned her attention back to the holographic screen located on the dome-like ceiling of the bridge. "Is that it?" she asked Petrov, watching the small moon beginning to rise out of the darkness behind the huge gaseous world it orbited.

"No, Captain," Petrov said. "That is the second moon. Our destination should be coming up shortly." As he spoke another, larger planet, appeared just behind the first. Although both moons were in the shadow of the gas giant, the second moon somehow looked darker than the first had. 

"Order a full stop," Susan said suddenly, as a sudden thought came to mind. The helmsman quickly tapped the controls on his console, bringing the warship's forward motion to a complete halt. Petrov looked up at Susan, a question mark on his face. "We will wait here," she explained. "That moon is orbiting in this direction so if we remain here we have longer to scan it before making a close approach. Keep sensors on passive only for now."

Petrov nodded, and glanced back to his console for a second. "The sensors don't report anything of interest yet."

"Give them time," she replied. "I want to make sure there is nothing dangerous out there, before we get any closer." She paused and looked up at the shape of the smaller moon, which was slowly making it way around the gas giant in a high orbit, higher even that the Rasputin's current location. "Do a sensor sweep of that moon as well," she ordered, pointing it out to Petrov. "Use our active sensors. If there is anything waiting for us out there, it probably already knows we are here."

Petrov nodded and activated the mass of powerful instruments that hung beneath the warship. "Active sensors on-line," he replied. Then everyone waited nervously as the sensor array probed the small rocky moon, searching for any sign of active power sources or life forms. "Nothing found," he said finally, after nearly five minutes of searching. He sounded a little relieved by that finding.

"Good," Susan replied, turning attention towards the larger of the two moons. "Keep an eye on it just in case. There may be some hidden system that is operating at only minimal power."

"This close, we should be able to pick anything like that up," Petrov argued. Then seeing the look in his Captain's eyes, he quickly added. "I will keep an eye on it though. It never hurts to be too careful."

Susan smiled faintly as she turned back to watch the larger moon's slow - almost stately - approach. A slightly desperate voice in her head suddenly broke into her thoughts.  <Susan,> Talia asked.  <Dr. Melis is asking why we aren't moving. There is nothing wrong is there?>

<Tell him that you think we are just doing a sensor sweep,> Susan replied. In response she felt an appreciative feeling from Talia, passing on the other woman's thanks for her assistance. Susan had initially been a bit doubtful when Talia had first said she wanted to work with the IPX team, but after Talia had explained that she didn't really have a lot else to do, she had finally agreed. Surprisingly, it had worked out quite well. Dr. Melis, the team leader, was happy and Susan could contact Talia telepathically if she needed to pass on any information, without having to deal with the aggravating scientist personally.

"Arias is now within scanner range," Petrov suddenly called out from behind her.

Susan glanced over her shoulder at the Commander. "Anything yet."

He shook his head. "Not yet. I am picking up what looks like life form readings, but I expected that. There haven't been any major energy readings at all. Although, we are still too far away for an accurate reading."

Susan nodded and went back to watching the planet slowly approaching. It was coming ever closer to the point where it would cross out of eclipse and into the light of the system's sun, giving the bridge crew their first proper visual sighting of their destination. She wasn't sure what to expect, despite having examined the messages IPX had received from the  Sturt . They had described a strange world, with almost one third of it hidden beneath a vast storm cloud, while the rest was lush jungle. 

Finally, almost exactly three minutes later, Arias crossed out of the dark shroud of night, and came into the light of its dawn. To Susan's surprise, instead of the expected green shades of a jungle world, the surface remained dark, a slight reflective glow the only change wrought by its emergence into sunlight. "What the hell," one of the bridge crew muttered, before quickly shutting his mouth and glancing nervously back at the command platform. 

Susan ignored his interruption, her mind occupied by what she was seeing in front of her. The entire surface of the planet seemed to be covered by a cloud of darkness, a black so sombre that she imagined that no light would be penetrating through to the surface. It reminded her a little of a giant metallic ball, the blackness seeming to reflect the sunlight rather than let it through to the planet's surface. Then, as the world came fully into the sunlight, a thin strip of green appeared, running along the southern part of Arias.

"Sensors report minor energy readings from that cloud, Captain," Petrov informed her, after reading the information of his console. "There appear to be electrostatic discharges similar to lightning but there is something preventing me from getting a coherent reading of the surface topography so we may be dealing with something else here."

As if in answer to his words, bright sheets of green energy seemed to play across the surface of the world as it began to warm from the direct sunlight now shining down on the upper atmosphere. Susan was reminded a little of the Shadow's planet killer, the murky cloud of darkness that could surround an entire world and bombard it with thousands of missiles. The resemblance soon passed, the planet surface changing with every second it spent in the light.

Now, what had once been a cloud of pure darkness, seemed to thin a little, and it was lit up by rapid explosions of an unknown energy, arching across hundreds of kilometres before dying out. In several places the energy discharges seemed to swirl about a focal point, almost as if that spot was a nexus for their activity. There was something contrived about it, though. It seemed too clean, to regular for it to be natural. Susan didn't know much about weather patterns, but even to her untrained eye it appeared almost artificial in its regularity, the edges of the storm, where the tiny ribbon of green jungle was visible, seemed far too perfect to be natural.

"Is the probe ready," she asked, referring to the small IPX planetary survey satellite that was waiting in the Rasputin's flight bay. It was one of the many pieces of equipment that the exploration company had insisted were absolutely necessary for the mission's success. Now she was beginning to see just why the huge piles of equipment might be necessary.

"Ready to go as soon as you order it deployed," Petrov replied. "Shall I order it loaded into the launch bay?"

"Ye..." Susan began.

"Just a minute," the crewman working on the console next Petrov cut in suddenly. "I am getting an energy spike."

"From the planet," Susan asked, glancing back at the main screen, but seeing nothing unusual. The energy discharges wracking the planet still appeared much the same as they did before.

"No," the crewman replied slowly, reading the information off his screen. "It appears to be in orbit above the planet. Somewhere over the northern magnetic pole by the look of it."

"Combat sensors have a partial reading, Captain," Petrov informed her. "I can display it on the screen if you like."

"Do so," Susan replied, spinning around again to look at the planet. As she watched a small section of the holographic screen suddenly zoomed in, displaying the wire-frame image of a large satellite.  It reminded her at once of the Vorlon warships, only this one was small and looked squashed, compared to the beautiful transport ship she had spent so many hours watching on Babylon 5. It was roughly spherical in shape, but the four tentacle-like prongs protruding from one end left no doubt as to its origin.

"It looks like a weapons platform," she said finally, after examining the satellite cautiously. Actually she wasn't sure that her analysis was correct, but the only time she had even seen a protrusion like that had been the weapons array on the Vorlon ships.

Petrov frowned. "I don't understand it. The  Sturt didn't mention seeing this when it arrived, the records I examined showed no mention of any defensive systems, and neither did the IPX probe sent earlier."

"Maybe it only activated when we approached," Susan said, considering his comments. "Inactive, it may have been too small for their sensors to pick up."

"That's a possible explanation," Petrov agreed. "But then, why did it activate now. Why not when the probe went past, or when the Sturt arrived."

A sudden chilling thought registered itself in the back of Susan's mind, and she almost froze in fear as she realised what was about to happen. Frantically she stabbed at one of the buttons on her console, one programmed to connect her directly to the link of Lieutenant-Commander Dreyer, the Rasputin's gunnery commander. As she pressed the control she almost shouted to Petrov. "Transfer the targeting information on that satellite to all weapons stations at once."

"Dreyer," the dry tones of her gunnery commander responded over the link, while Petrov looked questioningly at her.

"This is the Captain," Susan said quickly. "Order the main gun to be prepared to fire. I am having information on the target transferred to you now." She looked back at Petrov who nodded in understanding and began working on his console as if his life depended on it, which if Susan's guess was right, it probably did. "Activate all of our interceptors as well," she continued.

"Right away, Captain," Dreyer responded, sounding almost excited by the prospect of battle. Susan didn't have time to think about his reaction though, something else had just caught her attention.

On the holographic screen the wire-frame representation of the satellite could slowly be seen rotating around until the four prongs of its weapon were facing the Rasputin. Then it fired, a brilliant beam of green energy that sliced across space and smashed into the warship somewhere near the flight deck. Shards of silvery metal, and small chunks of the glistening organic inner hull, exploded into space as the hull was breached. A shudder ran through the entire ship as the rapid decompression of one section of the ship began to move the stationary vessel to starboard.

"Damage report," Susan ordered, as another shudder ran through the hull, the starboard thrusters firing to maintained the Rasputin's position. Before the report could arrive two powerful beams of purple energy shot out from beneath the warship, signalling that Dreyer had powered up the main gun. A brief flare of light high above the surface of the world confirmed a direct hit, and the wire-frame image of the defence satellite blinked once and then vanished from the screen. 

 

* * *

 

On the planet's surface, inside a huge, dismal fortress that lurked, like some great beast, at the bottom of an ancient impact crater, a small group of alien creatures suddenly looked up in surprise. The screen above them, which had, until moment ago, been showing a relay of the ISN feed from Earth, suddenly went blank. For a second they wondered if this was like the time, two years ago now, when it had been black for several weeks.

One of the largest of the creatures was more suspicious though, realising that something serious had gone wrong this time. This in itself was surprising as nothing ever went wrong with the devices his people had been provided. He rose from his cushioned seat and padded his way quietly through the maze of passages leading into the fortress' throne room, and the being that waited within. "Mistress?" he asked cautiously, as he poked his massive, scaly head through the golden doors, not really wanting to disturb his mistress during her time of rejuvenation.

The being sitting on the shadowy throne was looking at another of the large screens, one that was suspended from the vaulted ceiling of the room on a thin arm of dark metal. "Very interesting," was all she said, her soft feminine voice echoing around the darkened chamber and sending a shiver down the spine of the creature who patiently awaited her response.

 

* * *

 

Breathing a sigh of relief at their narrow escape from disaster, Susan quickly scanned the bridge to see if everyone was all right. "Hull breach on the flight deck," spoke up the crewman in charge of damage control. "No reports of injury, and the hull sealant has closed off the breech. There has been no reported major damage, and a repair team is on their way."

Susan nodded, relieved that no-one had died. "And the target?" she asked Petrov, who was still busy working on his console, his hands flying across the glowing surface of the console.

"Destroyed," he replied, as soon as the computer spat up the information he required. "I doubt there is much left, but I can order a scout out to examine the area if you like."

"Not yet," she replied. "I want a full scan of the planet's orbit first. Make sure there aren't any more of those things out there." Petrov nodded and went back to work. Susan pressed the control on her console again. "Good work, Lt. Commander," she told Dreyer, as soon as he answered the summons. "Keep your guns hot though, we may still need them."

"No more satellites detected, Captain," Petrov called out as the Rasputin's sensors finally finished their scan of the planet. "It looks like that was the only one."

"Keep looking," she replied. "And get Lt. Commander Schmitt to launch a scouting party of starfuries. I want every inch of that planet examined closely before we get anywhere near it." Telepathically she reached out for Talia's mind.  <Are you all right?> Susan asked urgently, her concern for Talia's well-being impossible to hide, especially when they communicated telepathically.

Susan felt relief wash over her as the calm mental voice of Talia's mind responded.  <Just a little shaken up. One of IPX scientists dropped a valuable instrument, but apart from that, there were no injuries. What happened?>

<It seems the Vorlon's left behind a defensive satellite designed to activate when it detected Shadow technology.> Susan replied. < We should be safe now, there doesn't seem to be any more of them left.>

She could almost feel Talia nodding in understanding.  <I gather you will busy for a while then.> The telepathic voice paused for a while, although Susan could feel the shadows of a conversation going on and realised that Talia must be talking out loud to someone else in the same room.  <I think the doctor wants to complain about the loss of his instrument. He claims it is your fault for poor driving. At least that's what he said.>

<Well, try and keep him calm for now,> Susan replied, her annoyance over the presence of the IPX team resurfacing with vengeance.  <I will be calling everyone together to discuss what happened, as soon as I am sure there are no more of those satellites out there. Tell him you will contact me to pass on his concerns, and by then I should be free.>

"Scout party launching, Captain," Petrov informed her. Susan glanced up and watched on the display as the distinct shapes of three starfuries moved rapidly away from the stationary warship, heading towards the planet, which by now was quite close.

<Looks like I have to go again,> she informed Talia.  <Take care.> Then turning to Petrov she said, "If they don't discover any more defensive weapons, then order them back." After Petrov has signalled his understanding, she continued. "If you don't find anything new then meet me in the conference room. I am going to get Dr. Melis and his team of experts to explain exactly what they have found out about this world before we proceed further."

She paused before leaving the bridge, and looked up again at the planet that seemed to hover above them, although in reality it was moving almost imperceptibly, following its orbit around the large gas giant below them. The planet had rotated a little more now, and the darkness no longer covered the entire surface. Instead, the green of a vast jungle was just becoming visible at the bottom of the dark sphere. That, at least, gave her some hope that the crew of the survey ship they had been sent to rescue might still be alive, although it was a very slim hope.

One look at the rest of the world, where the dark storm still raged, took away much of that hope though, as she realised that if they had come down inside that area, it was unlikely they were still alive. In fact, one look at the explosions of green energy rippling across the surface, and she was sure that nothing could survive down there for long. She could only hope they were somewhere inside the jungle covered section.

 

* * *

 

Beneath the dark cloud, in the cheerless fortress at the very centre of the storm, two creatures were examining a darkened screen with some interest. One, a massive creature with clawed feet and a thick, scaly hide, tapped the metal of the screen once with a sharp claw. "It does not work, Mistress," he said nervously, afraid she would blame him for the fault. "Something is wrong."

"It still functions, Azrak" the small creature standing just behind him replied, in a voice so soft it was little more than a whisper. "The signal is no longer there."

"What does it mean?" the reptilian monstrosity asked, stepping away from the screen as if it would bite him. There was still much in the fortress that he did not understand, and, despite being the highest ranked of the mistress' servants, she told him little about the functions of the technology she had gifted his people with.

The shorter creature's eyes narrowed and with slow, almost cautious movements she made her way back to the large throne. "It means that the last of the satellites has been destroyed," she said softly as she took her seat again. Compared to the throne, her small frame appeared tiny, almost swallowed by the darkness that curled about her resting place like a cloak.

"By what?" Azrak looked even more nervous, realising that the mistress had left that one satellite intact for the sole purpose of receiving the signals from the alien worlds. Now that it was gone, she may become angry, although he knew that she rarely ever felt anger any more, just resignation at her fate.

"That is a very good question," she mused softly. Then, in a different voice, one stronger than Azrak had heard in many years, she said, "summon the scouting parties. I think it is time we took another look at the ship of our visitors. Perhaps the answers are to be found there." As her servant hurried from the room, heading off towards the barracks, she looked up at the dark screen that hung in front of her. With a delicate flick of her fingers, it rose out of sight, back to its hidden alcove in the high ceiling, leaving her with nothing to look at except the glittering array of gemstones set into the walls and ceiling of the throne room, and they had long ago lost any attraction.

 

* * *

 

“What the blazes is going on, Captain Ivanova," Dr. Melis demanded as he marched into the conference room, looking a lot like an angry rooster, all puffed up and red faced. "Your carelessness has cost me an extremely valuable data recorder. It's intolerable that such a thing should be allowed to happen." To illustrate the point he waved the shattered remains of the device in front of her, showering the carpeted floor with pieces of electronics and broken plastic.

"Sit down, Doctor," Susan said with a sigh, waving him in the direction of one of the chairs.

Melis looked even angrier at being brushed off. "No! I want to know what the hell happened. Someone could have been injured. I thought this was supposed to be the best ship in the fleet. I didn't expect to find myself thrown halfway across the room, because whoever is driving this thing can't keep it flying straight."

Susan's eyes narrowed in annoyance. She was used to dealing with belligerent civilians, especially after four years working in C&C on Babylon 5, but for some reason still felt the urge to cause serious bodily harm to the doctor. "What happened, Dr. Melis," she said, a insincere smile on her lips. "Is that this ship came under attack. Perhaps if you had informed me that this planet had defensive satellites we might have been more prepared."

Melis turned white with shock, which at least seemed to drain away his anger. "Attacked?" he asked in a small voice, as he allowed Susan to guide him in the direction of the chair she had indicated earlier. "Who attacked us?"

"It would appear that the Vorlons were responsible," She replied, after Melis had taken his seat. "Fortunately my gunnery officer was prepared, and we were able to return fire before it got off more than one shot. We were hit on the flight deck, but there was no major damage. However, it was close to your location. That is why you felt the ship shake violently."

"Was there any wreckage?" Melis asked, his professional curiosity beginning to reassert itself, along with a good portion of greed. "A Vorlon defence satellite would be very interesting to study. We should send out a shuttle at once to recover any debris"

"I believe it was totally destroyed," Susan replied. Then, when Melis' face clouded over, and he looked ready to start arguing again, she said, "But if there is anything left, I will have the fighters I sent out recover any wreckage for you to study." The doctor looked satisfied with that, and any further conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the rest of the IPX scientists. With them came Talia, her presence enough to drive away the annoyance she had felt over Melis' argumentative nature.

<I hope the doctor hasn't been too much trouble,> Talia asked telepathically, as Susan showed the rest of Melis' team to their chairs.

<Nothing I couldn't handle,> Susan replied, taking her seat at the head of the table. As Talia sat down next to her, Susan asked,  <He hasn't been like that all day has he? I can assign you to something else if you like.>

<It's fine, Susan> Talia reassured her with a faint smile, although the weary look on her face showed that the morning had been a tiring one.  <I am used to this sort of thing. Remember, I was a commercial telepath. Compared to businessmen, and their greedy, manipulative minds, Melis is a puppy dog.> Movement near the door distracted her, and her attention shifted to the entrance.  <The rest of your guests seem to have arrived.>

Susan glanced up, just in time to see Commander Petrov walking through the door, followed closely by Lt. Commander Alister Schmitt. The flight commander was wearing a portable headset, and had large data pad tucked under one arm. "Sit down," she ordered. "We were just about to begin this meeting." The two officers nodded and took the last two available seats. "Any more news?" she asked as soon as they were comfortable.

Alister Schmitt shook his head. "It looks like that was the only satellite. The scouts haven't located anything else in orbit." He pointed to his headset. "Shall I ask them to return now?"

Susan thought about that question for a moment, but then shook her head. "No, not yet. Get them to make a sweep through the upper atmosphere. I want to make absolutely certain there is nothing else out there before proceeding any further. And, a second mission for a two-ship team: Do a close fly-by and complete scan of the platform's wreckage. Look for any pieces big enough to provide interesting salvage." After a brief glance at Melis'' head nodding in agreement," She looked over at Petrov. "Commander, what is our position relative to the planet?"

"I have put us in a lower orbit around the gas giant, travelling at approximately the same speed as Arias. That should enable us to keep track of the planet, without coming within range of any more defensive systems."

"Good," Susan replied. Then she scanned around the table, examining the gathered scientists, noticing they were all looking back at her with hopeful, almost expectant faces. She sighed, wishing she could tell them that the survey ship had been found. It hadn't though, and instead she now had a new problem. As she prepared to start the meeting she said a silent prayer to the crew of the  Sturt , wherever they might be.

 

* * *

 

Captain Hal Lawton stared despondently at the glowing screen of the  Sturt's electronic log. The lines of writing seemed to blur as he sat there, merging into one word, hopeless. With a deep sigh he ran his fingers through his thick mop of fiery red hair, before resting his head in his hands, just staring at the dirty floor of his quarters. The only interesting item down there was a black strap, used to secure his body during zero-gee. It lay forgotten on the floor, no longer needed as the  Sturt still remained bogged in the endless swamp that seemed to make up much of this world's surface.

Of course, it wasn't really stuck, a simple burst of the ship's powerful thrusters would have been enough to haul it up out of the mud and off into space. But those thrusters were now little more than lifeless junk, as was much of the ship. Somehow, the ship had been drained, tapped of all its stored electricity. While the reactors still seemed to have a raw fuel supply, the ship didn't have electrical reserves to monitor their safe operation, let alone risk a cold start-up." Normally, that wouldn't be too much of a problem, as the  Sturt carried large solar panels designed to recharge the reactor if necessary.

However, beneath the storm cloud which covered a third of the tiny world, there was almost no light. Not even a single ray of sunlight ever made its way down to the surface. If fact, apart from the ship's emergency lighting, the only illumination came from the flashes of green lightning that crashed across the darkened sky ever few seconds. As good as they might be, the solar panels were designed to absorb the gentler sunlight, and not the powerful discharges of electrical energy. One of the collectors had already been reduced to tiny shards of metal and glass, after a lightning strike had hit the ship itself, instead of the ground.

Lawton blamed himself for the predicament the survey ship now found itself in. If he hadn't panicked and ordered an emergency take off when the energy drain had first been detected, they might still have been able to escape. His first thought had been to escape, but there had been too little energy left for the  Sturt to achieve escape velocity, and it had been pulled down again. It had only been luck and quick thinking that had allowed their survival.

As soon as Lawton had seen that the ship wasn't going to make it into orbit, he had switched all available power to the landing thrusters and bought the  Sturt down in an almost controlled emergency landing in the swamp. The escape from death had been short lived though. Over the past two weeks nearly forty of the crew had vanished, snatched away by a monstrous alien race that seemed to lurk into the shadows of the rotting trunks of ancient trees. Each disappearance was another dagger in Lawton's heart, another example of his failure. He could only hope that somehow the one message they had managed to send, had been received by someone... anyone.

The sound of boots running along the metal of the corridor outside his room woke Lawton from his misery. No-one ever ran any more, unless it was important. With a tired sigh he hauled himself off his bed and opened the door, just in time to allow Dr. Janet Petrilli, the head of the IPX researchers on the  Sturt,  to rush in, looking out of breath, but still bubbling over with excitement.

"Captain, you have to come at once," she managed to get out, breathing heavily after her run through the ship. Her face was animated with excitement, and her eyes sparkled brightly, making Lawton wonder what she wanted. Instead of explaining, she grabbed hold of his arm and began to drag him out into the corridor beyond. "Hurry."

"Who's gone missing this time," he asked with a sigh, his mind now numb to any feelings of loss. Too many had gone missing since their forced landing, including most of his senior officers and all three of the telepaths. He blamed himself for their loss as well, realising that if he hadn't sent them out to scout the landscape, they would still be alive and part of the crew. Actually, he didn't know for sure if they were dead, but he had already given up hope.

"No-one," she replied. "We think there may be a rescue ship in orbit."

That got Lawton moving, at least after his jaw had picked itself up off the ground. "A rescue ship?" he asked in amazement. Before Petrilli had time to nod he had leapt out of the room and was hurrying off down the corridor towards the darkened bridge. All the hours of blaming himself were swept away, as he allowed a small amount of hope back into his heart, hope that they would be rescued and he could go home again.

The small bridge was crowded by the time he arrived, all the crew who had heard the news hurrying there to find out if it was true. In the dim, reddish glow of the emergency lighting, their identities were difficult to determine, but the look of hope on their faces was impossible to disguise. Finding his way across the crowded room to the captain's chair, Lawton took his seat. "All right, what's this about a rescue ship?" he asked, looking around to see who had any information. He hoped this wasn't a false alarm.

"Harry detected it, Sir," his second officer, Terry Maloney, informed him, referring to the electronics specialist who had been sent along by IPX, on the off chance that they might find some sort of alien technology. "That radar system he built finally paid off. It detected a starfury flying overhead, at least we think it is a starfury, no-one had used this sort of technology for over two hundred years, so we can't be really sure."

"So, it could be anything?" Lawton asked, not wanting to raise hopes too high, at least not just yet. "Even a meteor, or something similar."

"We should know more when Harry gets back," Maloney replied. "He is up on top of the ship checking the readings, just to make sure of his findings, you know how he is about accuracy."

The sound of running footsteps sounded down the corridor and a breathless Harry Skeet ran onto the bridge, waving a data pad about. "It is a Thunderbolt," he cried out, much to the joy of the gathering of crew, who broke out into loud cheers.

"Are you sure?" Lawton asked. He didn't really want to be the party pooper, but he was a man who demanded accuracy from both his crew, and the wild bunch of scientists who populated the survey vessel.

"Positive," Harry beamed, shoving the data pad in his direction. "See, you can identify its distinct shape, I am not mistaken about this one."

The Captain took the data pad in his hands and switched it on. All the remaining electrical equipment was switched off when not in use, to save what little power their batteries still contained. On the glowing screen the blurry, but still familiar image of the Thunderbolt starfury appeared, its atmospheric wings extended, which probably indicated it was making a sweep of the upper atmosphere.

"Can we be sure they are here looking for us?" he asked cautiously, still not sure if he believed that rescue could be so close. "It might just be a passing ship doing a survey run."

"Not here," Maloney reminded him. "Remember than no Earthforce vessels were going to be allowed inside Vorlon space until we made a full survey of this planet. They have to be here looking for us, there is no-one else out here."

Lawton nodded, remembering the directive from Earthdome that he had read, just before they left Earth on this ill fated mission. Earth must have sent out a rescue mission. For a brief moment he felt relief and joy filling him, feelings that disappeared as soon as he remembered exactly where they were. "They can't detect us. We are invisible under this cloud" he informed the crew. "Unless we find a way of signalling them, they will not find us, and fly away, leaving us here."

"My rocket is ready," Janet Petrilli spoke up suddenly, excitement in her voice. "I finished it two days ago. If we fire it into the atmosphere, it will let them know we are down here. They probably have rovers, or some sort of vehicle that they can rescue us with. All we have to do is let the know we are down here."

Lawton cringed at the mention of the rocket. When she had first mentioned it he had told Janet it was a foolish idea, that she was only going to blow up the crew, and probably the rest of the ship. She had insisted though, saying it could be done, and many of the crew had agreed with her. Finally, more in the interests of the crew's morale than any improved potential of rescue, he had allowed it. While the crew had something to work on, he hoped that they would be less worried about the unseen menace that lurked beneath the dark waters of the swamp.

"OK, Petrilli," he said. "You can launch it. But make sure it is well away from the ship before you fire it, otherwise it could kill us all."

The scientist nodded, and everyone rushed out off the bridge, enthusiastically working to move the small rocket to a safe distance, although there was not a lot of room on the isolated patch of solid ground they'd landed on. A small island of relative safety, completely surrounded by menacing, untraceable swamp. Lawton shook his head sadly as the makeshift device was shifted into position at the far end of the island, its rickety framework looking ready to fall apart at any time.

It was constructed from one of the ships survey probes, the sort that are launched to examine a planet before making a landing. The  Sturt had one left, and after a week of work, Dr. Petrilli had removed the propulsion systems, which were too weak to make it into orbit, and built her own, using some of the fuel reserves from the main reactor. Then she had rigged up a basic guidance system, and announced that it was ready.

Lawton wasn't so sure, but at the moment, with the possibility of rescue close, he was willing to give it a try. As he watched, hiding safely behind a pile of crates, Petrilli ignited the rocket's engines and then ran as if her life depended on it. Just as she leapt over the crates the rocket's engines fired a massive, but for the moment controlled, explosion of energy. Like some huge, solitary fireworks salute, it leapt into the air, quickly powering away from the ground with a stream of fire tailing out behind it. The gathered scientists and ships crew cheered loudly as it became evident that the rocket was flying straight up, right towards the cloud that blocked the sunlight, and their only way of escape. Seconds later it pieced the cloud, creating tiny sparks of green energy as it passed through the storm and out of sight.

'Now all we have to do is hope they see it,' Lawton thought as he watched the glow from the rocket's engine fade away. He looked around at his crew and saw the hopeful gleam in their eyes. 'Please let this work, God,' he prayed silently, hoping that somewhere some power was smiling on him today. After all that had gone wrong, they deserved something to go their way for a change.

 

* * *

 

"This is a waste of time, Captain," Melis argued belligerently, stalking around the table like some hungry cat prowling for its next meal. He slammed the data pad down on the table with such force that Susan was sure it would shatter. It didn't though, the metal of its casing proving stronger than even the doctor's anger. He placed one hand on the conference table as if to steady himself while he used the other to gesticulate wildly in her direction. "I demand to be allowed to lead an expedition down to the surface at once."

Susan looked calmly back at the angry scientist, barely even moving in her seat. "There will be no landing until I authorise it," she replied, her voice low, but filled with a strong undertone of authority. "And, if you even think of going without my authorisation, I will have you arrested and tossed in the brig. Until I have the all clear from the scout fighters, I can not consider moving my ship closer to the planet than it already is. Neither am I going to allow a landing party, until I am sure that whatever happened to the Sturt, won't happen again."

Melis threw his hands up in the air and went back to his chair. "I don't know why I bother," he said dramatically, shaking his head in frustration. "Your Earthforce types are all alike, always concerned with rules and regulations." His voice suddenly grew louder again. "There are people's lives at stake, Captain. This is not just about money, it is about a hundred and seventy good men and woman. Surely that is worth some risk. If we don't do something soon, they'll probably all be dead by the time we do act."

"I am aware of the stakes here, Doctor," Susan replied. "But this warship has over a thousand crew and I will not risk all of their lives in a blind rush into a Vorlon defended environment, unless I can be sure that some of the crew of your survey ship are still alive. Until then, we remain right where we are."

"I can see this is hopeless," Melis groaned, walking towards the door. Before leaving he paused, and looked back at Susan. "When you decide to do something, instead of sitting here sucking your thumb, let me know." Then he stalked out of the room, muttering something about Earthforce fools, and several other comments that let Susan know exactly what he was feeling.

One of the other scientists, a Laura Altmann, if Susan was remembering correctly, suddenly spoke up. "I am sorry about Dr. Melis, Captain," she said apologetically. "He is used to the university back on Earth, and doesn't get out much. I think he didn't like discovering that you can't be ordered around like one of his students. With time, I am sure he will calm down."

"I hope you are right, Ms. Altmann," Susan replied. "I have enough trouble without having to deal with a belligerent scientist. If he can't behave himself I will have him confined to quarters. Make sure you tell him that when you next see him."

"Yes, Captain," Laura replied meekly.

"Captain," the suddenly excited voice of Alister Schmitt called out. "One of the scout vessels has discovered something." He tapped the headset, as if trying to improve the reception, although with modern technology, the voice of the pilot should have been transmitted with no trouble, no matter where in the system he was. "There seems to be some interference, probably from the storm cloud. It seems he is saying that he has found a missile or something like that."

"A missile?" Susan queried, suddenly looking concerned. "Was it fired at him."

"Just a second, Captain," Alister said, before relaying her question. He nodded a couple of time, listening to the starfury pilot's reply. "No, it wasn't. At least he doesn't think so. The pilot reports that it appeared out of the cloud, just achieving orbit before running out of fuel. He has grappled it, and says that it looks like some sort of probe... apparently of Earth origin."

"From the survey ship?" Susan asked, hoping for a positive answer.

"Possibly," Alister replied, his voice sounding unsure. "I will order him to bring it back and we'll go over it properly. There may be some sort of message inside, if it is from the  Sturt."

As the flight commander sent the orders to his pilot, Susan quickly ran all the possibilities through her head. If the rocket did come from the survey vessel, and it came from beneath the cloud, then that meant that a least one person had to be alive down there, despite the deplorable conditions that were thought to exist beneath the storm. If it didn't come from the survey ship, then there was something else down on the planet, something that had Earth technology. That sounded a little unlikely, so she dismissed that possibility and made a quick decision on their next move.

As soon as Schmitt had finished talking she gave her orders. "Commander Petrov, I want you to go to the bridge and supervise a full sensor sweep of the planet. Check for any sign of a vessel, or anything else that might be of Earth origin."

"We will have to go closer for that," he reminded her.

"Do so," Susan replied. "The starfuries haven't been attacked, and they also haven't found anything. Well, at least nothing dangerous. I am willing to stake this ship that the satellite we encountered was the only one. Move us into orbit."

Petrov nodded and stood up. "I will get right on it, Captain," he said, before making his way out the door and off towards the bridge.

She looked around at the scientists gathered around the table. "The rest of you can help by taking a look at this missile, or whatever it is. I want to know everything about it. I also want to know everything there is to know about the planet below, including possible landing sites. If there is anyone alive down there, I want to get them off Arias as much as Dr. Melis does. I am not, however, willing to take foolish risks. We are not going to end up with even more people to rescue. Is that understood by everyone?"

After everyone had signalled their agreement, Susan dismissed them, watching as they all filed out of the room, heading towards the front of the elevators down to the main deck. Finally only Talia remained, and Susan looked over at her with a tired smile of her face. "Well that didn't go too badly," she said, her voice betraying how tired she felt. She rubbed her shoulder, trying to ease the ache that seemed to have developed there.

With a poignant half-smile of loving concern, Talia moved behind Susan and began to massage her lover's shoulders. "You did the right thing," she whispered, as Susan moaned beneath the healing touch of her fingers. "Dr. Melis will have calmed by the morning, and he probably will have forgotten all about the argument. You were right, you can't afford to risk this ship, not even for the crew of the  Sturt."

"I just hope they are still alive," Susan said, pulling away from Talia to gather up her papers and data pad.

"They are," Talia replied. "I am sure of it."

"Can you pick up anything?" Susan asked, looking back at her. "I have tired scanning the planet, but it is either too far away, or I am not powerful enough to pick up anything."

Talia shook her head. "No, I can't either. And it's a matter of distance. We are too far away from the planet."

Susan nodded, and then leaned back, allowing Talia wonderful massage to relax her. A smile of contentment spread across her face as the ache in her muscles began to recede, while in her mind she could hear Talia's whispered voice calling to her, caressing her, and comforting her. It was rare moments like this that made Susan realise that not everything about her telepathic powers was bad, or evil. When she was this close to Talia, when their minds became almost as one, Susan truly accepted her abilities, and herself.

 

* * *

 

Azrak raised his massive, clawed hand, calling a halt to the march. Ahead, rising out of the dead jungle, was a bright streak of yellow fire. It lasted for only a few seconds before it shot into the dark clouds, but that was enough for the leader of the Chosen to see that it had originated in the camp of the strangers. "Interesting," he mused to himself, wondering what the alien creatures were up to now.

"What is it?" one of the scouts asked, a little fearful, as many of the Chosen were when they encountered something new or strange.

"I do not know," Azrak admitted, staring in the direction of the crashed starship, wondering what the strangers had devised now. They were indeed bizarre creatures, as the interrogation of the few that had been captured had proven. Fortunately they had also proven to be strong workers, and their efforts in the mines beneath the fortress had pleased the Mistress. Despite their weak outer appearance, they had a hidden strength which had surprise many of the Chosen.

"Perhaps we should go back," the scout continued. "The Mistress should be informed. She may know what it is. It could be a new weapon."

Azrak shook his head. "No," he said firmly. "We have our orders. We are to scout the camp of the strangers, and discover more about their purpose here on our world. The mistress would not be happy if we returned with the mission incomplete. Where the Mistress points, I follow... as should you."

A murmur of agreement ran through the small collection of young warriors. Azrak was the leader of all the Chosen, and one of the few allowed to speak to the Mistress, the mysterious ruler of this world. His word carried her law among the lower ranks, and if he said the mistress wanted them to scout the stranger's camp, then that was what they would do. The Mistress had given them too much for the Chosen to disobey her now.

"Come," Azrak said slowly, waving his clawed hand in the direction of the camp. The scouts, smaller warriors than the mighty leader, spread out across the wide, shallow trench, before continuing their march towards the distant camp. Azrak, and the three handlers who cared for the scout party's sword hawk, set off down the centre of the trench, following the glowing green line of the power transfer cable. A party of workers, returning from the construction site, stood aside as they approached, allowing the warriors to run past. 

Workers were the youngest of the Chosen, some barely a thousand cycles old. In time they would grow to become miners, and then servants. Finally, if they survived that long, they could join the ranks of the scouts and perhaps one day, become warriors like Azrak. Until that time, many cycles from now, they served their elders, as the Mistress decreed, one of her ten sacred laws.

An hour later they reached the end of the trench, where nearly fifty workers were busy extending the line towards the edges of the cloud. After two hundred years of work they had managed to extend the power network across half the area covered by the storm cloud. It would take another one hundred years, or seven generations of the chosen, before the power network at last reached the jungles, but that would be a glorious day. On that day the Mistress had promised that light would again spread across the whole world, and they would rise up from the darkness and destroy the evil ones who had ravaged their world, and created the cloud.

Pausing near the newest of the energy collectors, Azrak ordered the first of the sword hawks to be released. After checking the recording devices mounted on the flying creature's tiny head, the handler threw the hawk into the air. It spread its feathery wings and glided off across the swampy landscape. As it flew away, the handler unslung the flat metallic panel, which allowed him to control the hawk, and placed it on a metal tripod.

Azrak waved in the direction of the scouts, who were almost hidden along the ridge above, pointing towards the sword hawk, and then in the direction of the camp. They nodded once and slipped off into the forest of giant fungus, heading in the direction of the alien ship. As soon as he was sure they were on their way, Azrak knelt down next to the sword hawk handler, watching the image projected on the screen. Soon the hawk would be gliding over the stranger's camp, which they conveniently kept illuminated, and then he would see what they were up to now.

Above a gigantic bolt of green lightning smashed into the energy collector, arching its was down the massive tower before being absorbed by the organic metal before reaching the ground and directed off down the power cable towards the fortress. Azrak watched the pulse of energy retreating off into the distance for a couple of seconds, before turning his attention back to the screen. He noticed the image displayed was growing dimmer, announcing the approaching night.

Although there was little difference between night and day beneath the massive storm cloud, the lightning did fade away at night, taking away the only available source of light. In the clouds above, the explosions of energy began to fade away, the chill of night cooling the violent reaction responsible for the lightning. The return of morning bought the lightning back again as the invisible sun, which few of the Chosen ever saw, began to heat the atmosphere again. The Chosen were untroubled by the coming of the all encompassing darkness, their bodies stored all the heat they would need to survive the night. Not that it ever became cold, the crust of the planet was thin here and pools of boiling mud abounded. It was the one thing that made life beneath the cloud bearable.

"It is there," the sword hawk handler said, pointing to the screen. 

Azrak nodded, and watched as the tiny forms scurried about on the screen, busy preparing for the night. They were flimsy creatures, and could not stand the cool air that flowed across the planet during the night. If cold, the Chosen would bathe in a pool of boiling mud, but these creature always hid away inside their ship during the night, as if they feared they would be injured. This night though, something was different.

"Make it go closer," Azrak ordered, tapping the handler on the shoulder with his largest claw. The handler nodded and sent the command to the sword hawk's helmet, forcing the flying scout closer to the stranger's camp. "Interesting," Azrak said, indicating one of the alien's, a tall one with strange coloured markings. "That is their leader, but I have not seem him outside their camp for many days."

He watched the alien leader was standing near one of the other aliens, and both looked very excited about something, flapping their puny arms about, and pointing towards the sky. Azrak was confused, what could they find interesting in the sky, there was nothing there except darkness. "Go closer," he said again.

The handler complied and this time the hawk moved close enough for its recording devices to pick up the speech of the aliens. "Did the rocket reach orbit?" one of the creatures was saying. Azrak wondered what a rocket was, that was not among the words the Mistress had taught the Chosen. Perhaps it was something new, something dangerous. Further speech was cut off abruptly. Something spooked the sword hawk and it flew out of range. Azrak considered sending it back again, but the images it was still transmitting would have to do.

He moved away from the three handlers, and pulled the transmitter the Mistress had gifted him off his belt. It was only small, but very powerful, more powerful even than the device that controlled the sword hawk. He held it in his hands, pressed the control, and then released the transmitter. The small spherical device did not fall as he had expected the first time he used it. Instead, it floated in the air, glowing faintly.

"What have you discovered, Azrak," the soft voice of his Mistress asked.

"The strangers are acting oddly, Mistress," he replied. "They mentioned something about a rocket. The leader said, 'did the rocket reach orbit'."

"Interesting," was her reply, then came a long pause. Azrak stood still, knowing that the Mistress was probably considering his findings. Finally, a full five minutes later, her orders came. "Bring me one of them," she said. "I would like to speak to one."

Azrak had been expecting her to order one of the aliens captured, but not her request to actually speak to one. Of the many they had already captured, the Mistress had never spoken to even one, preferring to allow one of the Chosen to interrogate them for her. The only time she had interceded in the interrogations had been when the first of the three tainted ones had been discovered. Then all she had done was order Azrak to have it be purified, so its taint could not infect the others.

Despite his surprise at her request, Azrak answered quickly, informing the Mistress that her commands would be carried out. With her acceptance, the transmitter went dead, dropping into the muddy ground. After picking it up, and wiping away the flecks of dirt that marred its surface, he reattached it to his belt and returned to the waiting handlers. The screen still showed the scene of the camp, although there were fewer of the aliens now. He knew that his scouts would be in place by now, their skill at travelling through the swamps unmatched.

He examined the scattered aliens, who were busy preparing for the night, while trying to decide which one to capture. Then he noticed one in a white covering. The Mistress said that they were the most intelligent of the aliens, so he knew at once that it was the one to pick. "That one," he said, pointing out the target with a claw. "Bring me that one."

The handler controlling the hawk nodded, and quickly relayed the orders. The view of the screen changed as the hawk glided away from the enemy camp and down to where the nearest scout waited, almost hidden at the edge of the water. After relaying the message, it flew back up to where the entire camp could be seen. Azrak watched as a thin trail of bubbles headed across the water, and then a minute later a the body of the scout exploded from the swamp, wrapped an arm around the target and dragged it back into the water. By the time the other aliens turned around, both the scout and his captive had vanished beneath the murky water.

Azrak nodded, pleased with the night's efforts. "Good," he said. "Recall the scouts. We must return to the fortress, the Mistress is waiting for us." The handlers nodded, and sent the recall order. Azrak walked toward the gigantic tower of the energy collector. For some reason he was feeling strange, as if something momentous was about to happen.

Azrak was one of the oldest of the Chosen. Nearly fifty thousand cycles had passed since he had been hatched, and never, in all that time, had he seen the Mistress behaving as she was now. Ever since the arrival of the strangers she had been acting differently. At first he had thought it was because she welcomed their company, but she never spoke to them, at least until now. Instead it was something else, there was a new look to her dark eyes, an emotion he had never seen before. Even though he was troubled he pledged to aid the Mistress in whatever she sought from these creatures, and perhaps, soon, she would be well again. Free walk once more among these stars she had told them so much about.

 

* * *

 

Dr. Janet Petrilli awoke to find herself shivering in some cold, dark place. She had no idea where she was, or how she had found her way here. The last thing she remembered was walking along the edge of the swamp, watching the lightning die away. It was a sight she observed every night since the crash landing, part professional curiosity, part idle sightseeing. However her memories of the previous night were nothing but a scattered collection of vague images, an explosion in the water, a dark figure looming over her, and then nothing but a chilling darkness. Now she found herself somewhere dark, with nothing to keep her company but her growing fear, and a bitter cold that seemed to fill her entire body. 

She hugged herself tight, trying to keep her body warm. But it wasn't arm strength, she recognised, that was going to stop the head to toe shivers that wracked her body. Mindful of the dangers of hypothermia, she began to strip off her wet clothing, laying them out on the hard floor to dry, while at the same time feeling around the dark room for something to wrap herself in. To her complete surprise her hand touched something, a warm something. She pulled it closer, and found herself holding a feathery blanket, which was somehow radiating heat. Too cold to be concerned with how it did this right now, she wrapped it around her body, sighing with contentment as the shivering began to fade, replaced by an all encompassing warmth.

How long she lay there, snuggled up with the strange blanket, she couldn't judge. But, by the time she next moved, her clothing was nearly completely dry. She pulled them on again, willing to put up with a little dampness now that the chill had faded. She left her white coat to dry further though, relying on the blanket she had found to keep her warm for now. With her most immediate needs taken care of, she began to look around the room in the hope of finding an exit.

Even before any exploration of the chamber, she'd had the feeling of being in a small room. Now, despite being unable to see absolutely anything, she felt her way around the room, in an attempt to feel out the boundaries. The first thing she discovered was that the floor, the walls, and she assumed the ceiling as well, were all made of metal. For a moment Janet felt a surge of hope from that, imagining that she was somewhere on the  Sturt . When she touched the metal with her hand though, that hope quickly disappeared. Unlike most metal objects she had ever touched, none of the surfaces in this room felt cold. Instead the metal seemed to hold an inner warmth, totally unlike anything she had ever encountered before.

Her professional curiosity piqued she began to examine the floor in closer detail, wondering if it wasn't made of a material other than metal. It certainly felt like other metals, it had a smoothness that was not found in other material, and when she tapped with her fingernails it sounded as she would expect metal to sound. However, despite all this information, Janet was struck by the unshakable feeling that there was something she was overlooking.

For the moment though, she was willing to forget about the strange metal that made up the floor and walls and concentrate instead on finding a way out of this room. Her exploration had, so far, located nothing apart from the blanket. The room was maybe five metres square, with no exits, or at least none Janet could find. Unable to find an exit, or anything even resembling one along the walls, Janet tried to reach the ceiling, but it was far too high for her reach without assistance.

Finally, realising that there was no exit within reach, Janet decided to get some sleep, figuring that whoever had put her in the room had to come back sometime. Using her coat as a pillow she curled up on the floor, the blanket drawn around her. Surprisingly, especially considering that she was lying on a cold metal floor, sleep came fairly easily. Her dreams, filled with strange, frightening images, conspired to deny her the benefits of a restful sleep. Finally, she was driven awake, and to her surprise found light in the room.

Gone was the thick cloak of darkness that had been her constant companion since first waking in this room, and in its place was a dim light. Shrugging off the blanket Janet looked around the room. It didn't take her long to find it, a small globe sitting on the floor just a short distance from where she had been sleeping. Taking no chances, she examined it thoroughly before touching it, wary of anything in this strange place.

Not identifying anything dangerous, she picked it up and examined it more closely. It was very small, and the light it generated was not strong, barely even enough to see by. It was also quite cold to touch, generating absolutely no heat whatsoever. Still, it was light. Right now, Janet didn't really care about where it had come from, only that it now allowed her to see, and to examine her prison in greater detail.

Given light, Janet could see that the walls were a strange green colour, although in a few places she could see dark splotches, almost like some sort of growth on the metal. When she touched one of the darker patches though, it still felt exactly the same as the rest of the wall, which seemed to disprove her theory. No matter how much she poked or prodded the dark colourations,  they didn't feel any different that the rest of the wall's surface. The marks appeared to be part of the metal too, as it didn't have the feel of a painted surface.

Then, Janet made another, more important discovery. She was walking around the edge of the room, shining the light on every surface in the hope of finding a seam in the metal, or anything that could indicate a way out of here. Just as she was beginning to lose hope, she noticed something strange. A small section of the wall began to change colour as she approached. Originally it had been the same green colour as the rest of the surface, but as she came closer a pattern seemed to form on its surface, becoming some sort of control panel.

Eagerly she examined the panel, hoping that it held the key to her escape. It was quite small, presenting fifteen thumbnail sized buttons, all a slightly different shade of purple. There were no marking of any kind to tell her what each button did, so taking a chance she pressed one. Then when nothing happened, she pressed another, and then another, trying to get some sort of reaction.

Finally, after pressing all of the buttons, she gave up and went back to looking for an exit. It was then she discovered that her room had been altered quite considerably while she had been playing with the control panel. Instead of the empty room that Janet had expected to see, she found was a room full of furniture. There was a bed up against one wall, and next to another, a table with a plate of food sitting on it. In fact, everything she needed to survive was now in the room.

Janet blinked, wondering how everything had been moved into the room without her hearing even the slightest sound. Then a thought hit her and she went back to the control panel, pushing one of the buttons. A chair next to the table suddenly became fluid and flowed into the floor, vanishing completely. She pushed the same button again and the opposite occurred, the chair seemed to flow from the metal of the floor and reform in front of her eyes.

Amazed, she walked over to the chair to examine it closer. After several hesitant false starts, she reached out and touched it. To her astonishment, it felt solid, appearing to be made of the same metal as the floor. The only difference beings its colour, a more greenish-yellow than the deep green of the floor. Janet grabbed it solidly, trying to move it. The chair wouldn't budge. Leaning down, she found that it was attached to the floor, almost as if it was still part of it. There didn't even seem to be a join or seam. Instead, the chair appeared to have grown out of the floor.

Quickly she checked all the remaining furniture and found that it was constructed the same way. Everything appeared to have grown out of the floor, with the exception of two items. One was the blanket, still sitting on the floor, and the other was the plate of food resting on the table. She looked at the plate, and noticed for the first time that it wasn't made of the metal everything else was. Instead, it appeared to be constructed of a dark wood, although there was no indication of where it had come from.

Cautiously, she examined the food, which appeared to be chunks of some unrecognisable plant root and thin strips of a dark meat, again from some unknown source. Despite her misgiving over its source, her hunger eventually got the better of her and she tried a small portion of the meat. It was bland, and a little tough, but apart from that it appeared edible. There was nothing in the way of utensils, so she'd be forced to use her hands, were she to eat the remainder of the food. Next she 'tested' some of the tiny chunks of vegetable, finding them equally tasteless. But they were very juicy, which helped relieve her thirst.

Taking a seat on the chair provided, Janet quickly polished off the meal. As she ate she wondered over her situation. She had obviously been captured by someone, a very advanced someone if this room was anything to go by. When members of the crew had first started to go missing, Lawton and the others had blamed it on a hidden menace, a monster of some kind, that lurked beneath the waters of the swamp.

Now, after her examination of the room, Janet wasn't so sure. Obviously something had grabbed her, but whatever it was had a lot more intelligence than a mere animal. The technology she had witnessed in this room alone was enough to convince her of that, as well as leave her a little scared over exactly what she would find when her captors came for her. Of course, that was assuming that they would come for her. For all she knew they could be watching her even now, studying her as humans studied insects.

Nervously, she glanced around, her mind trying to convince her that every shadow held a hidden camera. When she checked though there was nothing, just the smooth walls of her cell. Finally she gave up searching and decided that there was nothing to do but wait until her captors showed their hand. After examining the control panel she quickly worked out which button did what, and removed all of her furniture except the bed.

Lying down, she was surprised at how soft the bed felt. She had been expecting a hard metal surface like the floor and walls, but instead the bed seemed to shape itself to fit her form. Leaving the light globe sitting next to the bed she curled up beneath the feathery blanket and let sleep claim her again. As she drifted off to sleep the light from the globe began to fade away, while a small opening in the wall suddenly appeared, allowing a large, clawed hand to reach through and snatch the plate away, all without waking Janet.

 

* * *

 

On board the warship  Rasputin , the command staff was just sitting down in the conference room to discuss the findings of the detailed search of the planet conducted over the previous twenty four hours. Unlike the earlier meetings, the IPX team was conspicuous by their absence, Susan preferring to make a decision on the next move of the rescue mission without having to listen to the constant arguments of the team leader, Dr. Melis.

"Is that everyone?" Susan asked Petrov, looking around the table.

"Everyone that's coming," he replied. "Lt. Commanders Dreyer and Schmitt will remain at their stations, just in case someone decided to attack us. Not that I am expecting anything, but it does pay to be careful, especially while we are inside Vorlon space. They haven't been involved with this matter anyway, so they wouldn't have much to add."

Susan nodded in agreement. "Lets begin. Commander, you can start by reporting on the latest findings of the sensor sweeps."

"I am afraid there is not much more to report from our last meeting. We have good readings from the two thirds of the planet not covered by that cloud, but our sensors can't seem to penetrate the storm cloud so we know nothing about what lies underneath it."

"Any progress on working out the reason why?" Susan asked.

Philip Moore, the chief engineer jumped in to answer that question. "I think it might have something to do with the nature of the cloud itself," he said. "We have tried modifying the sensors about twenty times, but so far nothing. I suspect it has something to do with the electrical discharges we are witnessing. There is certainly nothing wrong with our systems, I have checked them thoroughly several times."

"Dr. Melis had an interesting theory about that," Talia offered, speaking up for the first time. "He said that the activity in the upper atmosphere is creating some sort of energy disruption over that entire section of the planet, a little like a shield. Anything electrical, including the Rasputin's sensors, is disrupted by the lightning and won't function."

"That could explain something I have been worried about," Petrov said, nodding in agreement. When he saw the questioning look on Susan's face, he quickly continued. "Do you remember that I said the fighter sent we into the cloud nearly crashed?"

Susan nodded. "You mentioned that it suffered electrical problems when it entered the atmosphere, and had to pull up suddenly to avoid crashing."

"I had a repair crew do a full check, and they found that something had scrambled the fighter's computers. I suspect the interference was caused by the electrical activity in the cloud. That could explain what happened to the rocket from the  Sturt  as well."

"Perhaps," Susan mused, remembering what they had discovered when the Thunderbolt pilot had bought back the rocket. Every electrical circuit, including the data crystal inside, had been burnt out, rendering the message from the survey ship's crew completely useless. "But does the effect extend all the way down to the surface, or is it only in the upper atmosphere?"

"Only the upper atmosphere," Petrov said assuredly. "I had another fighter sent down into the area not covered by the cloud, and that caused no problems at all. It was also able to fly into the region beneath the storm cloud without any electrical failure. It didn't stay there for long though, the conditions were not suitable for flight, too dark and windy. I choose not to order the pilot to try again, just in case."

"I agree," Susan said. "I don't want to risk too many lives in this venture." She looked over at Talia. "What did the doctor and his team say about landing elsewhere on the planet?"

"He said it should be possible," Talia replied. "In fact, he mentioned there are several clearings along the edge of the cloud where it would be possible for an atmospheric shuttle to set down without any trouble."

"There is a problem with those clearings though, Captain," Petrov cut in, pushing a data pad across to her. "I just received the information the sensors picked up about them before coming here. These readings show large amounts of background radiation, completely inconsistent with the rest of the jungle. If could explain why there is almost no plant life in those regions."

"Did Dr. Melis mention that?" Susan asked Talia.

Talia nodded. "Yes, he said that might have been responsible for the energy drain on the  Sturt . The doctor thinks that is should be possible to land and then take off again without draining the shuttles systems too much."

While Susan was considering that possibility, Petrov asked, "would you like me to order a shuttle be sent down. It might be possible to rig up a remote control system so we could fly it from here without causing any risk to a crew. That should enable us to test the doctor's hypothesis without risking any lives."

"Good idea," Susan replied. "Get that organised straight away, after this meeting is finished. If it's possible to land a team on the planet, and they won't end up trapped down there like the  Sturt,  then I want it done. Have you located the  Sturt  yet?"

Petrov shook his head. "Based on the trajectory of the rocket we know the general area where it might be, but as our sensors have been unable to penetrate the cloud, we haven't pin-pointed its location yet. However, it's a big vessel, so it should be impossible to miss from the ground. It should tower above any vegetation in the area, so all the team we send has to do, is get close to the general location and climb a tree."

Susan smiled at that comment, then asked, "how far from the edge of the cloud do you think it is?"

After considering his notes, Petrov replied, "it looks like it is about a day's travel by rover, assuming the ground is flat and clear. If it isn't, it could take a fair bit longer, possibly even two or three days. We are lucky that this is only a small planet, little more than a moon."

"That is the one things in our favour," Susan said. "It means that it should be possible to reach the  Sturt and rescue everyone on board within a couple of days. Given that fact, and assuming that the test with the shuttle works out fine, I am beginning to edge towards allowing a mission to the planet. Before do so we must be sure we can get off again."

"Well, if we test the landing area with a single, unmanned shuttle first, then I think we can safely assume that anyone we get down there can get off again." Petrov considered his notes again for a second. "I have checked the messages sent back from the  Sturt before it went missing, and they contain no mention of any dangerous life forms in the jungles, at least nothing that would harm an armoured rover."

"I guess that just leaves the question of who is going," Talia said, a strange tone creeping into her voice, as if she already knew the answer.

"I am thinking of sending two teams," Susan replied. "That way we can guarantee the mission's success. Of course, both would be accompanied by a force of marines armed with heavy weapons. That should ensure that even if we do find something dangerous, we will be able to take it out before it does any damage."

"We, Captain?" Petrov asked. "You are not thinking of going yourself, are you. I can't agree with that, it is an unnecessary risk to your life. I would advise sending someone else, and that you remain up here to direct the mission."

"I volunteer to go," Major Logan suddenly spoke up, after having sat quietly at the back of the room for the entire meeting. "It is my job, after all. I will lead one of the teams, and I will organise ten of my best soldiers to be assigned to each of the rovers. They should be able to take care of anything that might be waiting down there for them."

"And I will lead the other one," Susan said, ignoring Petrov advise. When he looked like he was about to continue arguing, she added, "I want to make sure that I am kept up to date with everything that is happening. We haven't been able to get any communications through to the  Sturt , so I am assuming that once we travel beneath that cloud we won't be able to pick up communications from anyone we send either. So, unless I am down there with the landing party, I won't have a clue what is going on."

"That doesn't mean that you have to go," Petrov argued, and the worried look on Talia's face showed that she also agreed with the Commander.

"No it doesn't," Susan agreed. "But I will still be going, as will Dr. Melis and his team."

"What!" Petrov asked incredulously. "You want to send civilians along on this mission?"

"I think we will need them," Susan replied. "You are forgetting, Commander, that this is a Vorlon world. There could be things down there unlike anything we have ever seen before. Dr. Melis' team are experts in what they do, and as much as I might dislike them personally, I think we will need them down on the planet"

"Can the rover's hold that many?" Talia asked, interrupting Petrov before he could respond.

"They can hold forty passengers each," Philip Moore answered for Susan. "I took a good look at them while we were travelling from Earth. They are basically large ground transports, with armour plating, airlocks, and other all terrain features. I understand they are fairly standard IPX issue."

"And Dr. Melis' team is only twenty strong," Susan continued. "Which leaves us enough space for around twenty additional passengers on the return trip, thirty if we leave the marines guarding the  Sturt. Assuming nothing goes wrong, then we can strip down the number of crew, and get all of the  Sturt's crew out in about three round trips."

"That still seems like it is going to take a long time," Petrov said cautiously.

Susan nodded. "I agree, but that is the best we are going to be able to do. I have spoken to Admiral Mellor in Earthdome, and he agrees with this plan. So, assuming we can land a shuttle safely, I want this mission to begin first thing tomorrow morning. Major Logan, I will need you to pick a team of marines to accompany us. Commander, I want you to take care of the shuttle test you mentioned. If everything is successful, then we will meet in the shuttle bay tomorrow at eight hundred hours to organise the two landing parties."

While the others considered this, Susan gathered up her notes and her data pad. "You should all know what you are to do," she said as she stood up. "I will see you all tomorrow morning."

The others nodded, and Moore and Logan quickly followed her out of the conference room. Petrov and Talia, however, remained behind a little while longer. "I don't like this, Ms. Winters," Petrov said, as soon as Susan was out of sight. "I don't know what the Admiral said to the Captain in their chat this morning, but she shouldn't be risking her life like this."

"She is always like this, Commander," Talia replied. "Susan doesn't like to let others do the job, not when she thinks she can do it better."

"Her place is on the Rasputin," Petrov argued. "She shouldn't be leading the mission to the surface."

"I agree," Talia said softly. "I will speak to her. I don't think I will be able to change her mind though."

"Thank you Ms. Winters," Petrov said gratefully. "I only hope she listens to you. She certainly doesn't seem to be interesting in listening to any of my recommendations. But then my previous Captain never listened to anything his junior officers said either."

"Well, she will listen to me," Talia said firmly as she headed towards the door of the room. Despite her feelings for Susan, she felt a little angry at the way the Captain was willing to risk her life like this. She intended to have a long talk with Susan before tomorrow morning, and, at the very least, she wanted to be allowed along on the mission. There was no way she was going to wait up here, worrying, while Susan was down on the surface. A determined look on her face, she walked down the corridor leading to the captain's quarters.

 

* * *

 


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER THREE   


 

* * *

 

Janet Petrilli woke to find her cell once more shrouded in darkness. She felt around with her hands, searching urgently for the globe she had left beside her bed. As soon as her fingers came in contact with the smooth, glass-like surface of the object she sought, a soft light began to fill the room, slowly growing brighter until it shone with the same strength that had the previous night. Curious, she ran her hands over the device, looking for some sort of sensor or control that might have activated it, but there was nothing visible to her eyes.

Before she had time to wonder about this, a sudden faint grating noise diverted her attention to one of the walls. Where there had been nothing but a flat metal wall, a large oval alcove had suddenly appeared. It was as if a large section of the wall had moved inward, creating the alcove. Janet tossed off the blanket and walked cautiously over to the depression, examining it from a distance before approaching closer. On the way she picked up her coat and slipped it on, wanting to look her best for her captors, just in case the alcove turned out to be the door she had searched for the previous day.

The alcove was only shallow, an oval depression about two centimetres deep. It stretched from the floor to a height of a little over two metres, and was about a metre and half across at its widest point. There were no distinguishing marks of any kind, that might signify its purpose, but its shape suggested to Janet that it could possible be a door. She wanted to be sure though, just in case it was some kind of trap and she spend the next two minutes examining it from every angle, trying to identify if anything dangerous lurked inside the shallow depression.

Finally, after she had exhausted all other options, Janet summoned up her courage and reached out hesitantly to touched the smooth metallic surface of the alcove. Feeling a faint vibration beneath her hand she quickly pulled back, but it was too late. Her brief contact had created network of lines, spiralling out from where she had touched the metal. The lines became cracks and before her eyes an opening appeared in the metal, creating a large oval shaped doorway. Janet began to edge away, a little fearful of what might be waiting for her on the other side of the door.

She soon found out. A large scaled arm reached through the newly created door and latched on to her shoulder with a powerful clawed hand. She shrieked in fear and dropped the light globe which, a little surprisingly, didn't break. Instead it bounced across the floor and rolled under the bed. The light gone, she was unable to see the creature the arm belonged to, but its outline filled the entire doorway, towering above her. Suddenly fearful of what it wanted, she tried to wriggle out of its grasp and flee back into the cell. Her struggles were in vain though, the creature holding her proved far to strong and she found herself being pulled from the room into the dimly lit corridor beyond.

As soon as Janet had been removed from the room the creature turned to the wall and said, "Close and lock." If its appearance had shocked her, its voice was even more surprising, as it spoke in almost prefect English, without even the slightest trace of an accent. It was as if the creature had grown up with English as its native language. Her attention snared by the sound of the creatures voice, Janet didn't have time to notice that the door to the cell had closed. That task done the creature turned back to her, and in the dim light of the corridor Janet had her first glimpse of one of her captors.

It wasn't just its height, about two and a half metres, but the overall massive power of its alien shape that made her feel instantly intimidated. Its thick skin was covered in coarse, dark violet scales, a little like those of an Earth snake. Those scales seemed to gleam in the dim light, as if they had been polished until they shone, reminding Janet a little of Captain Lawton's boots. Like her, it had two arms, two legs and a single head, but that's where the resemblance ended. Its legs were a lot thicker than hers, and well muscled, similar to those of a runner. It also had a thick tail that brushed the ground behind it, obviously used for support when it wasn't moving. Its arms were even more muscular, and ended in wickedly clawed hands, which were opening and closing menacingly as Janet observed them.

Her eyes flicked downwards, towards its waist, and she saw it was wearing a short kilt made of a black leathery material. Several gemstones had been set into the leather, possibly as decoration, or maybe as a symbol of rank, Janet couldn't tell for sure which it was. Above the kilt was a thin metallic belt, from which hung a wide variety of objects, including several curved knives, two large pouches, and a strange spherical object. Further up, across the creature's broad chest, were another two belts, arranged like bandoleers. There was nothing attached to these belts, but each had a large green gemstone set into it, sparkling in the dim glow of the corridor's lights.

Finally, Janet looked up, straight into the creature's face. For a moment the alien's head reminded her a little of an upside down bowl, rounded and smooth. There were no visible ears or nose, but a large fanged mouth dominated the face. She noticed, with a little fascination, that each of the four fangs had been carved with strange symbols and a scattering of tiny rubies had been somehow attached to the teeth. Above the mouth were two small snake-like eyes, which were currently watching her with undisguised interest.

Seeing that Janet had finished her scrutiny the creature spoke again. "Come," was all it said. As it spoke a thin, forked tongue flickered over its scaled lips, as if it were sensing the air in front of it. Then it spun around and began to stride down the corridor, its upper body tipped forward as it was running, and its tail slicing through the air behind it like a club. After a second or so it noticed that she hadn't moved and it looked around at her again. "Follow me," it said, a little louder than before. "The Mistress wishes to meet with you."

Realising that she had little choice in the matter, Janet followed the creature. As she walked, she examined the corridor, noting a line of alcoves on either side of the corridor. They were like the one that had appeared in her room, so obviously they were also doors. Janet wondered if these doors led to cells like hers or if there were other, more interesting, rooms behind them. Above, widely spaced crystal globes like the one she had found in her room provided a dim light, barely even enough to see by. Janet noticed that as they left each section of the corridor the globe behind them dimmed, and then eventually faded, so that back by the door to her cell there was now nothing but darkness.

The corridor was reasonably long, and fifteen doors had passed by on either side before they reached the end. The creature guiding her reached out and touched an alcove at the end of the corridor, which quickly opened, exposing a small room. Turning around to face Janet, it said, "enter." As soon as she had walked into the small room beyond, the alien followed. Then, after a short wait while the door spiralled shut again, he said, "palace level."

An almost imperceptible vibration in the floor was the only sign that the room was moving and perhaps five seconds later the creature reached out and touched the door again. As soon as the alien had exited, Janet looked out to discover that the long corridor was gone, and in its place was a wide passage leading to two large doors made of a dark metal. Her guide didn't hesitate and walked straight towards the doors, which opened before him. After a quick glance down two dark side passages that led off the main corridor, Janet hurried after the alien into another corridor beyond.

As she hurried along behind her guide, she looked around to search for the mechanism for opening the doors. What she found instead though, were two smaller versions of her guide, who were already pulling the door closed again. They were dressed similarly to the alien leading her, but their kilts and belts lacked any gemstones, so they were obviously of a lower rank, at least that is what Janet assumed. They also looked less muscled, leading Janet to wonder if they weren't part of another caste, like worker ants compared with soldier ants. Her guide had spoken about a Mistress, so she began to wonder if she wasn't being led to see the queen of the alien race.

As she worried over what to say when she met the alien queen, Janet lost track of the maze of corridors she was being led through. Several times she passed more of the aliens, all of varying sizes, but with the same general body structure. Most were like the ones she had seen back at the doors, but several were similar to her guide, and others seemed to be a cross between the two. She couldn't see any female aliens, unless of course the one leading her was female, so she assumed that like a colony of ants there was only the one queen.

Finally, following several confusing minutes of zigzagging, and after climbing several flights of stairs, the journey ended. Janet's guide led her to a large set of golden doors, guarded by five wary looking aliens, similar in size and ornamentation to the one with her. The largest, a dangerous looking creature with ten huge rubies on the bandoleers crossing his chest, nodded once as she approached and tapped on the door behind him. As it opened, her guide turned to her. "Follow Azrak," the alien said, again in perfect, unaccented English. "He will take you to the Mistress."

Janet eyed her new guide curiously. At first glance he appeared similar to the alien that had opened the door to her cell, apart from the minor difference in clothing, but looking closer it was possible to see a lot more. By his stance, and the way the other aliens deferred to him, this Azrak was obviously of much higher rank. As he tuned away from her to walk through the now open doors, Janet noticed he had something none of the other aliens possessed. Strapped across Azrak's back was a large sword, made of a yellow-green metal that seemed to shine, almost as if it possessed a hidden energy.

"Go," her guide said, tapping her gently on the shoulder with one of his massive claws, and pointing in the direction of the doors. "Follow Azrak. The Mistress is waiting for you."

Nodding hurriedly, and eyeing the clawed hand on her shoulder, Janet edged her way past the guards, through the golden doors, and into the room beyond. There she pulled up, a little in awe of the chamber she had entered. It was huge, larger than anything she had seen so far, but its size was not what made it so magnificent. High above, the vaulted ceiling glittered with a thousand tiny lights, and for a moment Janet imagined they were stars. Then she looked at the wall nearest her, and realised that they were actually gemstones, tens of thousands of emeralds, diamonds, and other, equally valuable gems. They all appeared to be arranged into a vast mosaic, but the order of the arrangement escaped her at the moment.

Despite her awe at the fortune that decorated the walls and ceiling, she glanced around at the rest of the room, searching for the alien queen. The room was semi-circular in shape and despite its size it appeared almost empty. In fact, the only furnishings she could see were a line of silver metal stands, each bearing a large crystal globe like the one she had been given in her cell. They appeared to be the only light sources visible, and the rest of room was hidden in thick layers of shadows. When Janet searched harder though she suddenly spotted a throne, or something very similar, towards the middle of the room and just beyond the range of her vision.

Seeing that Azrak was waiting, and not wanting to appear disrespectful to the alien's queen, she hurried to catch up with the large warrior. Janet was both excited and terrified over what she was going to find. Once she had got over the shock of being dragged out of her cell, she had soon grown used to her guide's appearance. Working for IPX meant that she had come into contact with a wide variety of alien life, and this species even spoke her language, which made communication a lot easier, and made them seem less alien. She was a little worried about meeting their queen though. Her job on the  Sturt was to work with alien technology, not alien races. There were other, far more qualified specialists on board to handle first contact situations. She only hoped she didn't make an error of protocol or some other mistake that would lead to a violent reaction from her captors.

As she approached the throne, she quickly glanced around the room again, a sudden movement along the walls catching her attention. For a second it looked to her as if walls were moving, but after a closer examination she realised that what she was seeing were tall curtains gently swaying due to a hidden breeze. It was only then that she noticed the gigantic windows that lined the walls and ceiling of the room. Through them she could see outside into the dark night, the flashes of green lightning informing her than she was still beneath the storm cloud. After a particularly violent lightning strike, she suddenly spotted the looming shape of the cliff face towering above the room, indicating that wherever this building was located, it was in a valley or deep depression. It also seemed to be located somewhere near the centre of the storm, if the ferocity of the lightning was any indication.

Despite her interest in her surroundings, Janet pulled her attention back to the throne that was now in front of her. As she approached, Janet suddenly frowned in confusion, realising that despite the presence of the light globes, the throne remained hidden in shadows, the figure resting on it hidden from her view. What little she could see, gave her the impression that the alien's Mistress was a lot smaller than them, perhaps even smaller than herself. 

Janet's skin began to crawl, and she got the impression that the creature on the throne was watching her very closely indeed. In fact she could just see two dark eyes peering at her, almost hidden by the shadows. The eyes seemed to project a powerful presence that filled the room. She felt short of breath, as if the alien's presence was choking the life from her body. Pulling her gaze away from the dark eyes she felt the feeling pass. She turned her attention away from the throne, noticing movement off to one side.

Standing near the throne, unseen until now, was another of the aliens. This one was smaller than the powerful Azrak, and appeared hunched over, almost as if it were an old man. Janet couldn't see any differences in skin colour, or anything else to indicate a different species or gender. However, this alien's clothing was completely different. Instead of the short kilt-like garment that the rest of the alien's wore, this one was clad in a long, voluminous robe. It was also leaning on a large staff, again made of the strange yellow-green metal that she had seen throughout this place. The creature's stance, and the way it clutched at the staff, made Janet think that it relied on it to walk, and the staff was not a symbol of rank.

Finally finishing his walk to the throne, Azrak bowed low in the direction of the shadowy figure that waited there. Unsure exactly what she was supposed to do now, Janet followed the warrior's movements and bowed as well. Then, Azrak walked over to stand on the opposite side of the throne to the robed alien, watching Janet suspiciously, as if preparing to pounce in case she tried to harm his Mistress.

Janet fidgeted nervously, wondering if she should say something now. Then, before she could speak, a soft, feminine voice whispered its way across the darkened throne room. "Who are you?" it said. Unlike the other alien's this voice spoke English with a slight accent, one that was achingly familiar. But, try as she might, Janet couldn't quite place it, although she knew she had heard a similar accent before, only very recently.

Suddenly realising that all three aliens were waiting for her answer she quickly rushed out, "Dr. Janet Petrilli." She kept her gaze lowered, not really wanting to make eye contact with the queen again. There was no response from the aliens, and the seconds seemed to drag by. Finally she realised that they were waiting for her to add to her statement. "I am a mission specialist on the  Sturt,"  she continued. "It is a research vessel. We landed here to conduct research into this planet and then we crashed..."

"I know about your starship," the figure on the throne said suddenly, the queen's soft voice cutting into Janet's explanation. "I am more interested in you. What do you do?" 

She didn't sound displeased with Janet's words, but the scientist got the distinct impression that she should tell this alien queen exactly what she wanted. The fact that the warrior Azrak was still glaring at her didn't help either. She paused for a second, working out a way to explain her job to the aliens. "I study alien technologies," she said finally. "With a company called IPX. We travel to alien worlds to discover new technologies that can help our world. I help work out how to adapt and use what we might discover."

"Why?"

"So we can make Earth a better place for future generations," Janet replied nervously, hoping that was what the alien wanted to hear. "And in the hope that one day we might uncover something that could cure diseases back home, or make life better for everyone."

Then, in the silence that followed her reply, Janet nervously fiddled with her coat, waiting for a response from the alien. Finally, just as Janet was about to open her mouth to speak again, the reply came. "Is that why you came here, to Arias? Do you seek knowledge from this world."

"Yes," Janet said, nodding furiously in agreement. "We came to peacefully explore this world in the hopes of finding something that would improve life on Earth."

The alien seemed to move forward, and with it the shadows gathered around the throne also moved, as if they cloaked her and protected her. When it spoke again its voice was lighter, almost as if the queen were amused by Janet's words. "You will find nothing of interest for your world on Arias, Dr. Janet Petrilli. However your presence here may serve me." The alien queen paused for a second as if she were thinking then, when she continued her tone carried an edge of authority. "How did you get to this world?"

"On the Sturt ..." Janet began.

The figure on the throne waved a shadowy limb in Janet's direction, cutting her off before she could finish the sentence. "I don't mean your vessel, I want to know how you made it to this world. This planet is not open to visitors, they made sure of that. How did your ship make it past the defences around this system."

"We didn't see any defences," Janet said.

"What!" The alien sounded shocked. "No ships? You located nothing at all."

"The Vorlons are gone..." Janet tried to explain, thinking that perhaps the queen did not know of the First One's departure. In fact she knew little about it herself, only that there had been a war and the Vorlons, along with some other ancient race, had tried to kill everyone. They had lost though, so as far as she was concerned that was the only important fact. 

The reaction of those gathered around the throne to her words came as something of a shock though. There was a sudden, hissing intake of breath from the two aliens on either side of the throne. The warrior, Azrak, glanced nervously at the throne, and even edged away slightly, as if he expected a bad reaction, and the other alien's hand shook where it held on to its staff. Then the queen suddenly seemed to lean forward, and the dim light around Janet began to fade even further. She felt her eyes being drawn towards the queen's eyes, and her gaze was quickly captured by those dark orbs. When the soft voice came again, it had a dark, menacing tone to it, as if what Janet had just said had been the gravest insult. "You will not mention their names again. Never will their cursed name be spoken in my halls. I am not a violent creature by nature Dr. Janet Petrilli, but if you mention them again and I will drain every molecule of energy from your body and toss your lifeless corpse to the scavengers. Do you understand?"

Janet nodded hurriedly, her face going pale with fright. Inside she wished that someone else could be here instead of her. She wasn't trained for this sort of thing. "I understand," she said quickly, dragging her gaze back down towards the floor once more.

The queen seemed to accept this and sat back on her throne. "Good," she said, her voice back to its normal calm whisper. "Your vessel encountered no trace of them then. Your journey here was untroubled by defences of any kind?"

"The Vor..." Janet began, before quickly correcting herself. "They have left the galaxy. Their worlds are empty now."

"Where did they go?" the queen asked suddenly.

"I do not know," Janet replied, looking nervously at the throne, while at the same time trying to avoid gazing into the alien's eyes. "It is said that they went beyond the rim, to a place known only to them and a few others."

"Do you know any of these others?"

Again Janet was forced to shake her head. "I don't know a lot about what happened. I was on Earth at the time, and we didn't get a lot of news about the war."

"I am aware of that," the alien queen replied, waving a shadow cloaked limb in the direction of the ceiling. "I have been watching for many years. I am aware of much that goes on, including the fact that your vessel would be coming here. I did not think, however, that you would arrive here intact. I had thought they would have put in more defences than the ones I destroyed. Perhaps they are less of a threat than I thought."

The alien's words seemed to trail off after that, as if she were musing over the comments she had just made. For several seconds the throne room was quiet, just the faint rustle of the drapes along the walls and a distant rumble of thunder breaking the silence. Then the voice of the alien queen cut into that silence, although to Janet it seemed as if the alien's soft voice was as much a part of the natural order of things as the wind and thunder outside. She hadn't noticed it first, but the queen's voice seemed to fit into this world, while the other aliens seemed out of place. That discovery both confused and worried her.

"What was that device my scouts saw you fire into the clouds last night?" the alien asked Janet, changing the topic completely from what they had been discussing only moments earlier. "It did not come down again. I find that most curious. That is why I asked to speak to you, instead of sending you to join your companions straight away."

"They are alive?" Janet gasped. "We thought they were all dead."

"You will be joining them soon enough," the queen replied, not directly answering Janet's query. "Now answer the question. What was that device, and why did it not return to the surface. Is there something up there, somewhere beyond the clouds, that you seek to contact?"

Janet shook her head, not wanting to let the alien's know about the rescue ship yet. If it was a Earthforce vessel up there, then she didn't want to give up the hope that she and the rest of the crew could still be saved from their imprisonment on this planet. "It was a test rocket," she decided to say. "We were testing to see if we could use older means of propulsion to get back into orbit."

On the throne the alien seemed to move slightly, and then her next question came, this time carry a note of displeasure with it. "You were not trying to signal anyone then?"

"No," Janet replied, trying not to betray the truth. She didn't like having to lie like this, but until she knew more about these creatures she didn't want to give away any possible advantage, especially to their queen. Despite her caution there was something about the alien that both attracted and frightened her. It wasn't anything tangible, just a feeling of comfort, as if the alien was here to help her. She felt as if she were in the presence of some angelic being, but at the same time came the terrible feeling that something very dark and evil lurked on the shadowy throne.

"You may go then," the alien said suddenly. "This audience is over. Azrak here will take you to your companions."

Janet jerked her gaze up to look at the throne in surprise. She had though the alien would interrogate her for much longer. After all, she had been kept inside that cell for at least a day, and now her audience with the alien leader had lastet little more than ten minutes. Any words she might have uttered though were quickly cut off as a clawed hand clamped down on her forearm and Azrak began to lead her away from the throne. With quick bow in the direction of the queen she allowed herself to be led away, confused and troubled by the creature she had just met.

 

* * *

 

The two remaining figures in the throne room watched Janet slowly being led out of the doors. The hunched figure of the old servant, Morkazz, shifted nervously as he considered his Mistress. He was the oldest of his kind, more ancient than even the old warrior Azrak, and for many cycles now he had served as the Mistress' personal servant. He took care of all the things that she did not wish the rest of the Chosen to know about, and in that time he had seen much, and had learned to read the Mistress' moods unlike any other.

Today she seemed reflective, as if she were considering the alien creature she had just questioned. This was the first time she had confronted one of the aliens face to face. Before she had always sent her questions to an interrogator, who then asked them for her. Morkazz was not even sure that she had been that concerned. When the signal from the alien world had vanished though, all that had changed. The Mistress had suddenly become interested in the aliens, ordering her interrogators to ask new, strangely puzzling questions.

He had spoken to Azrak, who as head of warriors also controlled the interrogators, who were actually just normal warriors that the Mistress had given new positions to. The old warrior had been as confused as he had, and neither had been able to determine what the Mistress wanted from the strangers. Her question seemed random and confused, and Morkazz had begun to worry that perhaps something was wrong. Like Azrak, he had also noticed the change in the mistress since the stranger's ship had arrived on this world. She had become restless, as if disturbed by their presence and her moods were beginning to effect everyone she came into contact with, from the warriors who guarded her throne room to the sightless females who served in her personal quarters. It seemed that everyone was on edge, wondering what the Mistress' next move would be. Morkazz could only hope that this malady did not spread, and that the Mistress would soon return to her normal calm self.

The doors to the throne room closed with barely a whisper of sound. Morkazz turned back to the throne. "Bring me the elixir, Morkazz," the Mistress said, not diverting her gaze from the golden doors at the far end of the room.

The old servant nodded and limped across the throne room to a hidden alcove. There he activated the control that opened the hidden door into the small room beyond. He ducked inside and with a look of awe creeping onto to his face, walked over to the pedestal that dominated this room. On top of the dark metal structure sat four small glass phials, each glowing with brilliant white light. Even after all this time as her servant, Morkazz was still amazed by this room. Carefully he reached out and picked up the closest of the phials, his hands gripping it tightly to ensure that he didn't drop it.

Inside, he knew, was the secret of the Mistress' existence. Each one of the phials contained enough of the elixir to kept the Mistress alive for one whole cycle, and without them she would fade away and die. This was the most sacred duty she had entrusted him with, ensuring that he bought the elixir safely to her each day. She could probably have done it herself, but the elixir was highly addictive and, with only three doses in reserve, she didn't trust herself to perform the task. Should anything happen to the energy collection network then she would be forced to rely on those reserves until it was repaired. If they were not available she would be lost.

Leaving his staff resting against the wall of the throne room, Morkazz carried the precious elixir across to the throne, both hands grasping it firmly to ensure it didn't slip out of his grasp. Each step he took filled him with fear, as his imagination played out a thousand different scenarios where the phial dropped to the floor and shattered. Unlike everything else in the palace, the phials were made of a strange material the Mistress called glass. The metal that all other utensils had been grown from had the tendency to drain away the elixir before it could be used. This glass kept it safe, but it was fragile and a single false step could result in disaster.

Today though, as on every other day, Morkazz made it safely. Reaching the throne he slipped the phial of elixir into its holder and stepped back, awaiting the Mistress' next command. He already knew what it would be, but he knew he could not leave until he was dismissed.

"You may go, Morkazz," she said softly, and he quickly hurried off, pausing only long enough to pick up his staff from where he had left it. The Mistress watched him leave, and as soon as the golden door had closed once more, reached out with a trembling hand and picked up the phial. Cautious not to spill even the tinniest drop, she removed the stopper and raised it to her lips, letting the glowing liquid ooze slowly into her mouth. A shudder ran through her, and she gasped as the tiredness that had filled her melted away.

With limbs that were suddenly strong again, the Mistress stood, leaving her throne behind. As she stood, the shadows that had cloaked her slipped away, exposing her dark robes, and a few small exposed areas of pale flesh. For a second she glanced in the direction of the room where the other three phials were kept, but with great effort dragged her attention away. They were still needed, at least for now. If what she suspected was true, then she would soon never need to rely on this method of staying alive ever again. Soon, if everything went her way, the clouds would finally clear and she would walk once more in the sunlight. Until then though, she had to rely on the small amount of energy collected each day by the lightning towers, just enough to fill one phial and supply the energy needs of the fortress.

Tossing the now empty container behind her, onto the cushioned seat of the throne, she walked across to the far end of the room, drawing aside the soft material of the curtains to glance out at the storm above. This time though, she didn't see the cloud that kept her imprisoned. Instead, she saw opportunity, a chance at last to break the shackles that bound her to this world. Outside the lightning still flashed across the sky, drawn against its will into the four gigantic towers that surrounded the fortress. She didn't see it though, looking past the lightning, past the dark cloud that generated it, as if she could see into the cold darkness of the void above.

"You are out there somewhere," she said softly, her breath forming a faint mist in the cool, early morning air. "Soon you will come down here to seek your companions, and then I will have trapped you like I did them. You will have no choice but to free me."

She stood there for several seconds, letting the gentle breeze wash across her, and watching the lightning growing ever more violent, signalling the coming of another dawn. Then she turned away, leaving the outside world behind her again, and walking back to her throne. She wanted to be free now, but after so long she had learned to wait. Whoever was up there, above the clouds, would come soon enough. All she had to do now was be patient, and after eight centuries patience was something she possessed in abundance.

 

* * *

 

Nicolai Luchenko looked up as the tunnel doors slid open with a faint hissing sound. However, instead of the expected aliens bringing the latest meal rations for the prisoners, a familiar brown-haired woman was pushed into the mines, tripping over her own feet and falling into Nicolai's arms. "Dr. Petrilli," he gasped as his eyes widened in surprise. Then his voice lost his amazement over her presence and turned sombre. "So they got you as well."

"Where are we?" Janet Petrilli asked, as she straightened up and smoothed out her clothing, while at the same time looking around the darkened tunnel. Gone was the smooth metallic walls of the fortress, she now found herself in a tunnel hewn from the surrounding rock instead. There was a line of dim lights along one wall, and through the darkness she could just make out the shapes of other humans. All around came the clanging sound of metal tools striking solid rock.

"We think it is some sort of mine," Nicolai explained as he helped Janet dust off her clothing. "Everyone who has been captured has been bought here."

"Have you been badly treated," she asked, looking him over for signs of bruising or other mistreatment. Even in these dim conditions, the handsome nephew of the Earth Alliance President still look calm and unfazed by his imprisonment.

The tall language specialist shook his head. "No, they have looked after us all right... all except for the telepaths." He pointed across the tunnel towards one of the crystal light globes. Just inside the circle of light the globe created, Janet could see three figures sitting slumped up against the wall. Around them the others continued working, hacking at the walls of the tunnel with their tools. Janet noticed that none of the three telepaths moved during the short period of time that she observed them.

"What's wrong with them?" she asked.

Nicolai shrugged. "We don't know. Dr. Abbado has taken a look at them, but he can't find any physical problem. All I know is that a day after the each arrived the aliens singled them out and took them away. When they came back they seemed to be in a daze, and none of them have spoken since. They just sit there all day, looking off into space."

"What do they want with us," Janet asked, unconsciously drawing closer to Nicolai at the same time. "The queen never mention anything about this. I didn't know you were all prisoners here."

Nicolai looked at her in amazement. "The queen?" he queried. "What queen?"

Janet pointed towards the ceiling. "In the big throne room up there. There was a warrior called Azrak and they took me before their queen. However, she asked only a few specific questions, and I was dismissed within minutes."

"I have heard of Azrak," Nicolai said. "The guards talk about him a lot. I think he is some sort of big shot general or something like that. I haven't heard anything about a queen. The only females we have seen are the ones who bring us food."

This time it was Janet's turn to look surprised. "You mean there are other females? I though we were dealing with some sort of ant-like race, you know like the Gaim. I assumed that this queen was the only female alien."

Nicolai shook his head. "No, they are a bit like us in that respect. The females are smaller and have light green scales instead of purple or black. They seem to do a lot of the work around the fortress, while the male workers do the construction and labour jobs in the mines and outside. At least that is what we have deduced by observing what goes on down here."

"This queen must be their leader then," Janet mused, mostly to herself.

"Perhaps. What did she ask you?"

"It was strange," Janet replied. "First she started asking me who I was, then she wanted to know why we were here. Then I told her about the Vorlons leaving and she nearly jumped off her throne and strangled me. After that she started questioning me about the rock..." Janet's voice quickly trailed off and she looked around for guards. Spotting two aliens lounging against one wall she grabbed Nicolai's arm. "Is there somewhere quiet we can go to talk. There is something very important that I need to tell everyone, and I don't want them to overhear."

He nodded and quickly led her along the tunnel, past the curious captives, who put down their digging tools for a second to observe her, and into a shadowy recess near the end of the tunnel. There, two men sat quietly talking. They looked up as Janet and Nicolai entered, and Janet recognised them at once. One was the short, stocky figure of Jeremy Curran, the Sturt's first officer, and the other was the tall and muscular Italian, Stefano Candelli, who also served as the Sturt's the security officer. They were both among the first to go missing.

"Petrilli," Curran said in surprise as she entered. "I wasn't aware they had caught you."

"I am afraid so," she replied, taking a seat on a chunk of rock that had obviously been positioned just for that purpose. She quickly told him the tale of what had happened to her, and then after checking to make sure none of the alien's were around passed on the information about the rescue ship.

The three men looked relieved and excited about the news. "I told you they would send someone," Nicolai said. "My aunt probably had half of Earthforce out looking for us."

"I only hope they don't think we're dead," Curran said, a lot more cautiously. "If they don't know we are still alive down here then they may just take everyone on the  Sturt and then leave again. We might be left behind."

"They wouldn't do that," Janet said nervously. "They will look for us, won't they?"

"I hope so," Curran replied. "I really do, but I wouldn't hold out too much hope. Perhaps with Nicolai here, they will continue to look for us."

Nicolai suddenly held up his left hand, cutting off any further conversation. He inclined his head toward the tunnel entrance where several massive warriors and a small group of shorter aliens was approaching. Janet and the others nodded to show they understood, and kept their mouths shut. It wouldn't do to discuss the rescue ship around the aliens, especially when they could speak English as well as the humans in the room. None of the four gathered near the end of the tunnel, however, noticed the tiny protrusion on the ceiling though, a small stalk-like shape that rotated to follow their every move.

 

* * *

 

In the throne room of the palace, far above the mining tunnels and the rest of the fortress, a slim, pale-skinned hand reached out and touched the image of Janet Petrilli on the screen. "So, you were lying to me," the alien's Mistress said softly to herself, while slowly tracing the outline of the scientist with one finger. "A rescue ship has come, just as I suspected. Humans are so predicable, they haven't changed at all in eight hundred years."

Seeing one of mining supervisors coming over to the small group, she deactivated the screen and turned away, realising that the humans would not talk openly with one of her servants nearby. As the display screen retreated towards the distant ceiling, she made her way over to her throne and took her seat. There she sat for several minutes, contemplating what her next move would be. 

There were going to be many difficult choices to make over the coming few days. She didn't want to hurt anyone, especially not the crew of the survey ship or their rescuers. But, if she was going to proceed as she had originally planned, there would be many chances for death and injury to occur. She didn't know what kind of ship was up there, but she hoped it was a warship. If it was just another vessel like the one stuck on the surface then her plans would have to change considerably. For a second she wished she could see above the clouds and learn what was occurring, but if she could do that then she wouldn't be trapped here.

Knowing that the rescuers would be coming soon, she reached out and tapped a control embedded into the arm of her throne. "Morkazz," she said as soon as the communication system activated. "Bring Azrak to the throne room at once."

"Yes Mistress," came the response from her personal servant.

It would be at least two minutes before the warrior and her servant arrived up on this level of the palace, so she leaned back against the padded surface of her throne. Around her the dim light began to fade even further, and her form disappeared into the thickening shadows, becoming one with the darkness. Whenever she met with the Chosen she had made sure to cloak herself from view, and now it was even more important that ever. After all, it wouldn't pay for them to see her as she truly was, not now anyway. It would raise too many question that she wasn't prepared to answer just yet. Later, when she was certain of her freedom, that would be the time for questions and revelations. Now, she still needed the assistance of the Chosen to stay alive, and to make her plans work successfully.

 

* * *

 

As the lift came to a gentle stop, Susan zipped up the jacket of her uniform and glanced over at Talia, who was looking back at her with a faint smile on her lips. "You're sure you still want to come," she asked, trying again to dissuade Talia from joining the landing party, although she knew by now that she would have little chance of that. "It is going to be a difficult mission, and if we run into trouble you could be injured."

Talia could have been easily been annoyed by Susan's continued attempts to convince her not to join the team going down to the planet, but she knew Susan was only trying to protect her. "I am still coming, Susan," she replied, without even the slightest hint of aggravation. "You are not going to leave me here to spend days worrying about you. I would prefer to be down there doing that, at least then I know what is going on. Now come on, I think Commander Petrov is waiting for us down in the shuttle bay."

The previous night It had taken Talia nearly an hour before she had finally been able to convince Susan to include her in the landing party. Finally, Talia had told her that she wasn't going to sit around on the Rasputin for nearly a week wondering if she was ever going to see Susan again, and that she was going and that was that. Faced with that argument, even the stubborn captain had been forced to agree that she had no choice but to include Talia, if only to stop her worrying during the mission.

"I only wish I knew how I was going to explain your presence to him," Susan said with a wry grin. "I think he was hoping you would convince me not to go, not join the landing team yourself."

"What about what we discussed last night," Talia suggested. "Tell him that you need a telepath for this mission. He will probably agree with that, after all, the Vorlons were powerful telepaths and my presence might be of assistance. The Sturt included three telepaths in their crew."

"I don't think that is going to convince him," Susan replied.

"Well, you can always explain why I won't let you leave me behind," Talia offered, mischievously.

Susan looked pained. "I don't think that is an option."

"I didn't think so," Talia said with a smile, before turning her gaze forward again as the lift doors opened.

Outside the quiet lift, the Rasputin's shuttle bay was a scene of pure chaos, as it was every time a shuttle was being prepared for launch. This time, however, the chaotic whirl of men and cargo loaders seemed to lack even the slightest indication of organisation. In the very centre of the chaos, various members of the IPX team were all trying to shout orders at once, while a harassed Commander Petrov tried to restore some sort of order and get the two shuttles loaded on time.

Behind the Commander the main lift doors opened with a faint noise, and looking around he saw the person he had been waiting for. "Captain," he said, sounding relieved that she had finally arrived. "I was wondering where you had got to."

"Are the shuttles ready for launch, Commander?" She asked, looking out over the chaotic shuttle bay with a faint frown on her face.

To Susan's surprise he made no mention about her intention to lead the landing party. Instead he replied, "Nearly ready, Captain. We have loaded most of the cargo, and just have to get those rovers on board. I have been having some trouble with the IPX team though, not that that is really a surprise."

Susan looked over to where the two shuttles were gathered, and watched as one of the massive IPX rovers was driven up the ramp leading inside the shuttle. This was the first time she had seen one of the rovers, and found herself a little surprised by what she saw. She didn't really know what she expected, but they looked more like military vehicles, instead of civilian. At least they looked sturdy. Susan didn't know what she was going to find down on the surface, but had the strangest feeling that they were going to need all the protection they could find.

"I have the latest report on the planet," Petrov said, passing over a data pad to Susan. "It is looking fairly calm down there, with no sign of activity from the landing site."

"Good," Susan said. "I want everyone on board as soon as possible then. If I am reading this correctly, it looks like it will be dawn soon, and I want to be on the surface by dawn."

Standing beside the two Earthforce officers, Talia was looking across the shuttle bay. "It looks like Dr. Melis could be a while yet," she commented, drawing Susan's attention away from the data pad Petrov had handed her and across the bay, towards the spot where the IPX team had gathered.

"Damn," Susan swore. "They are supposed to be tucked up in the second shuttle by now." Quickly, she scanned around the bay looking for someone to take care of the problem. Then her eyes fell on Major Logan. The Major, like the rest of the marines, was fully prepared to depart at a moment notice. She had a PPG rifle slung over one shoulder, and a large pack over the other. Logan seemed to be looking in her general direction, so Susan waved briefly and called out, "over here, Major."

After lowering the heavy pack to the ground, the Major hurried across to the gathered officers. "Captain," she said, saluting Susan. "My team is ready to leave. Just tell us what to kill and we will take care of it."

"Hopefully there won't be any need for killing today, Major," Susan replied, hoping that Lily was only joking. "However I do need you to do something important for me." She looked over at Dr. Melis and his team. "I want you to take charge of the second rover, instead of Melis. I need someone I can trust running it, just in case they decide to stop and look at an interesting artefact or something like that."

"You can count on me, Captain," Lily replied. "I will make sure they don't get out of line."

Susan nodded, looking pleased with Lily's comments. "Good, Major. Right now though, I want to make sure they get on board their shuttle. According to Commander Petrov, it will be dawn over the landing zone in just under two hours. I want to be on the surface before then, to make sure we make the most of what little daylight we have. Make sure that Melis and his team are on the shuttle in the next ten minutes, if not we will be going without them."

Lily saluted sharply, before marching across the deck towards the gaggle of scientists gathered around the IPX team's leader, Dr. Melis. A couple looked up as she approached, but most continued to listen to Melis, who was busy describing the use of one of a hundreds of scanners and data collectors that he thought it necessary to bring on the mission to the surface. Lily eyes narrowed as she watched her charges speaking and then, fingering her PPG rifle, she cleared her throat.

Melis glanced around. "What do you want?" he asked, sounding annoyed at being disturbed, especially by someone from Earthforce.

"The Captain wants everyone on board now, and that includes your lot." Lily gestured towards the open hatch leading into the second shuttle. "So, grab your equipment and move it onto that shuttle at once. You have five minutes, and then we leave without you."

"That is intolerable," Melis replied. "I need at least an hour to explain the use of all this." he waved his hand towards the collected electronic equipment scattered across the floor and piled up on nearby crates. "We need everyone to know what they are doing."

"I already do, Dr. Melis," Lily replied. "If you thought you needed to give your team a lecture, you should have done it last night. Right now we don't have the time. As you well know, this planet has a much shorter day than Earth, and the Captain wants to arrive just after dawn, so we can travel during the day to start with, just in case there is something lurking out there."

"I want to speak to Ivanova," Melis said, his voice starting to rise. He stared over in the direction he had last seen Commander Petrov. But, although the Commander was still there, Susan was nowhere to be seen.

Seeing his eyes wandering, Lily also glanced across the shuttle bay to the first shuttle, which was just finishing loading all the marines who were going with the first landing party. "Very well, Dr. Melis," she replied. "But you will need to hurry. Her shuttle, which I believe is also the shuttle you are supposed to be on, is almost ready to depart."

Melis frowned in annoyance. But, instead of continuing to argue, he quickly gathered together his scattered equipment and ran across the bay, just making it into the shuttle before the outer doors began to close. Lily smiled, and then ordered the rest of her charges to gather up their equipment and board the second shuttle. Two minutes, and several well worded threats later, the entire team had been hurried on board the second shuttle and everyone had taken their seats. 

After making sure they were all strapped in for the journey, Lily tapped her link and signalled to the first shuttle to inform them her shuttle was ready to depart. After receiving the confirmation of her message from the other shuttle's pilot, Lily took her own seat and prepared for what was bound to be a bumpy ride. Second later she felt a jerk, as the shuttle was gripped up the huge magnetic clamp suspended from a shuttle bay roof. Then came a faint swaying motion as the shuttle was moved into the airlock, ready for departure.

Quickly, Lily reached up and switched on the monitor, which was mounted on the wall above her seat. On it, she could see the outer doors to the airlock opening, and then the green curve of Arias came into view far below. Before she had time to drink in the exhilarating view, the shuttle shuddered as its thrusters lifted it out of the airlock and into space. Then the stabilisers kicked in and for nearly a minute the flight was smooth and peaceful, the two shuttle slowly making their way from the Rasputin, down towards the moon below.

From her seat in the second of the two shuttles, Lily could see the beautiful green jungle stretching out below them. It seemed never ending, a vast expanse of greenery and life. But then, as the shuttle headed towards the northern hemisphere of the small world, the dark cloud came into view. It looked to Lily as if a dark blanket had been drawn across a huge section of the moon, blotting out not only the light, but the life of the world. The huge storm, lightning continually arching through it, was like some vast, turbulent sea. It even seemed to have waves running through it, although these were waves of wind displaced clouds, instead of water.

No-one on the shuttles had long to contemplate the storm though. Almost together the two shuttles struck the upper atmosphere, sending a jolt running through the metal of their structure. Although modern shuttles were a great improvement on models from the early 21st century, they still were not immune to the dangers of atmosphere entry. Some of the other races, notably the Minbari and older races like the Vorlons, had atmospheric shielding that enabled there vessels to slide through the atmosphere with no visible effect. Earth, however, had no such technology, and their ships still had to plough through a planet's atmosphere like they had for centuries. The bumpy ride didn't last long though, as the shuttles' stabilising thrusters compensated for the turbulence and the flight began to smooth out. Soon there was only a faint vibration to indicate that they were even in the atmosphere at all. 

Like they were one, both shuttles dipped lower, turning towards the very edge of the cloud. There, almost hidden among the surrounding jungle, it was just possible to see several large clearings, the landing party's destination. Looking at the approaching clearing on the monitor, Lily wondered what they would find down on the planet. Somewhere, hidden beneath the dark cloud was the trapped survey vessel, and she could only hope the Sturt's crew was still alive.

 

* * *

 

The difference between the two regions was so pronounced it was obviously not a natural phenomenon. In fact, it appeared as if a line had been drawn across the surface of the jungle moon, and on one side was a dark, cloud covered swamp, while on the other, bright sunlight shone down on a leafy green jungle. The change from one region to the other took place over less than thirty metres, with the trees vanishing soon after crossing the beneath the cloud's shadow.

Of course there were still trees and shrubs beneath the cloud, but they were not the same varieties as those in the sunlight. Instead they were larger versions of the small bushes and vines that grew in the shadows of the thick jungle canopy. They had evolved millennia ago to survive on little light and now thrived with their larger cousins long dead. Most of the old jungle trees had died during the fiery storm of the Vorlon's attack on the planet, and the rest had slowly rotted away, leaving behind only their trunks. Scattered throughout this dark imitation of the normal jungle, these rotting trunks could be seen, held up only by the vines that had wrapped themselves around them.

Standing beneath one of these ancient dead trees, two figures waited, looking anxiously out into the sunlight world, now barely a hundred metres from their location. One was a tall warrior, smaller of frame than the mighty Azrak, but leaner and possessing a wiry body that gave him great speed when he needed to run. He rested uncomfortably against the old tree, munching on a piece of fungus he had picked earlier, while trying to determine his next move.

The other figure was the small feathery shape of a sword hawk, perched on the warrior's shoulder. Sword Hawks were birds of prey that could be found across Arias. While easy to spot with their bright yellow, blue and green plumage, they were fierce fighters, with long, razor sharp beaks that could slice through even the leathery skin of the masters with ease. Fortunately they were easily trained, and rarely attacked their trainers any more. Both the hawk, and its master were members of the scouts, send out by their Mistress to scour the sunlight lands for signs of newcomers.

Jarz, one of the few Chosen scouts who patrolled these borders, continued to look nervously out into the jungle before him. His people were nocturnal and rarely ventured outside the cloud covered lands during the day. But the Mistress had sent the order, and as a warrior he must obey. Reaching down to his belt, Jarz pulled out the large goggles, designed to shield his sensitive eyes from the blinding light of the system's distant sun. Then, after securing them on his round head, he gingerly took his first step out into the sunlight. Ahead, through the scattering of trees and bushes along the edge of the Mistress' domain, the scout could see the large clearing he had been ordered to watch. 

Like all of the Chosen he had heard the stories about how the clearing was created. It happened nearly a fifteen years ago now, when the Mistress designed the first of her solar collector devices. Before these new collectors were built, the Chosen had been forced to depend of collecting the energy from the lightning generated by the great storm. Now, they had a device that could drain sunlight and store it as raw energy, capable of powering almost anything. Unfortunately, however, the new collectors had a fatal flaw. While they had a limited storage capacity, they hadn't stopped collecting energy once the limit had been reached.

What had happened was a great disaster, still remembered till this day. Twenty scouts had been sent out, all carrying the new collectors. The Mistress herself had spoken to each of them, wishing them well, and telling them that if they were successful then her freedom, and that of the Chosen would come soon after. However, all had not gone well. The collectors malfunctioned when they reached the limit of the energy they could hold. Instead of shutting down they released all that energy in a single, massive explosion.

Where before there had been twenty scouts, there were now only twenty smoking holes in the ground, patches of land that never recovered. The Chosen had been shocked by the death, but more so by the failure of the devices. Until that day everything the Mistress had given them had worked perfectly, and they imagined that these collectors would as well. Even the Mistress herself was shocked, refusing the speak to anyone, even her personal servant, for several days. She had locked the throne room doors and lived in seclusion, contemplating the failure of her machines

When she had finally allowed the Chosen back into the throne room, there was no mention of the solar collectors, and wisely her counsellors chose not to raise the matter. Although her body always remained hidden from sight by the shadows she called up around her, the counsellors could sense her sadness over the loss of the scouts. They knew that she blamed herself for their deaths, although she could not have foreseen the flaw. Until the coming of the strangers the disaster had never been mentioned in the throne room again, although the story was often whispered among those in the lower halls.

However, for some unknown reason, that had all changed when the alien ship landed on the planet, in this very clearing in fact. Jarz had been on patrol that day as well, and had watching in amazement as the giant alien craft had settled down in the clearing, crushing the trees in the surrounding jungle. When the outer doors opened and strange, pale-skinned creatures had emerged, he had fled, running back to the fortress as fast as his legs could carry him. Even to this day, he still cursed himself for not having the courage to remain and observe the alien's further.

Despite his concern about what he saw as his cowardice, Jarz had returned to the fortress to inform Azrak and the other leaders on what he had seen. To his surprise he hadn't been reprimanded, or stripped of his rank. The news he carried was of great importance to the Mistress for some reason, and she had listened very closely when he had described the creatures Jarz had seen, even asking him a question personally at one point. What he had thought might be the end of his existence as a scout, and reduction of his rank to that of a worker, had turned out to be the greatest day of his short life.

Then, after his meeting with the Mistress was over, he had been ordered back to the border, only this time he had been given an energy collection device to carry. Remembering the stories of the disaster he had been very nervous as he crept through the dark jungle, sneaking up on the alien ship. But the device did not explode with the coming of dawn, instead it drained energy out of the alien ship, enough to ensure that it remain on this world until the Mistress was finished with the aliens. He had never understood what that mission was about, and why the Mistress wanted the aliens to remain, but on his return he had again been praised for his work. He had even been given a promotion, Azrak increasing him to the rank of Pathfinder, a high as he could go before becoming one of the Chosen's leaders.

Now he had a new mission, one that made just as little sense as the last. But, after the results of his last encounter with the aliens, he wasn't about to argue. So it was that he found himself sneaking through the jungle once more, looking for another alien ship. The Mistress had told him and the rest of the scouts that it would come soon, and had ordered all the pathfinders, and lower ranked scouts out to the borders. Their mission, to find this new alien vessel, and record what happened.

Reaching the edge of the clearing, Jarz sudden halted, hearing something strange off in the distance. It was a loud roaring sound, as if some mighty beast was coming his way. Nervously, he crept back into the jungle, ducking under a large bush and hoping to stay out of sight of whatever was approaching. Still perched on his shoulder, the sword hawk started screeching, the piercing sound slicing into the scout's sensitive hearing like a knife. He tried to shut it up, but it refused to stay quiet, and pecked at him when he came too close, slicing open a small wound in his hand.

Then the roaring sound grew louder, and the sunlight disappeared. Looking up, Jarz saw the sun eclipsed by two huge flying creatures. At least that what he thought they were for a second, but then he realised they were similar to the alien's craft, only smaller. He tore a leaf off a nearby plant and held it in his hand. Then, with the leaf as protection, he reached out and grabbed the sword hawk's beak, cutting off its shriek. That worked for all of five seconds, and then the hawk suddenly started to flap it powerful wings. Unable to hold on, Jarz was forced to let go of it to prevent the hawk cutting open his hand even further than it had already. The sword hawk lifted off his shoulder and flew out into the clearing, just as the alien ships were beginning their descent. 

The Chosen had no curses in their language, but Jarz invented several as he watched his hawk fly into the path of the two shuttles. Then, he realised he was in the open, and therefore visible to any of the aliens who might happen to be watching, something the Mistress had been careful to tell him must never happen. Annoyed at himself, the scout dived back under cover, just as the shuttle retro's began to fire.

Flames lit up the clearing for a moment as the powerful thrusters slowed the shuttles until they were almost hovering. The trees of the jungle were too damp to catch fire, but several were scorched by the fiery blast. They held their positions for what seemed like forever, before the landing struts on the two shuttles extended, and they dropped lower, coming to a rest in the centre of the clearing. Then, everything was still, with only a distant squawks and screeches of jungle birds breaking the silence.

Beneath his bush, Jarz pulled out the sword hawk's control box. While the hawks were organic in nature, those tamed by the Chosen were fitted with specially designed controllers, that allowed their handlers to see through their eyes, as well as keep their dangerous personalities in check. To the scout surprise, the controller still worked, and it was showing a perfect view of the far side of the alien ships. 

With a sigh of relief, Jarz leaned back against the trunk of a nearby tree, and turned to watch the screen. Now that the dust had settled, it was possible to see the shape of the alien craft, and although they were like nothing the scout had ever seen before, they still looked somewhat similar to the first alien vessel. For a second he wondered what these new aliens were going to do, but then his attention was focused back to the two shuttles, as the rear of one of the vessels began to move. 

 

* * *

 

Gently, the large hatch at the back of the first shuttle swung open, slowly lowering itself down to the ground. Several small shrubs growing out of the clearing splintered under the weight of the hatch, and then it was down, coming to rest of the flat ground. After a wait a nearly a minute, four marines appeared at the top of the newly created ramp, carefully scanning the surrounding jungle for signs of hostile life forms. When none appeared they slowly made their way down to the ground, stopping twice to look around again, their PPG rifles always at the ready.

Once on the ground they hurried across the clearing, towards the jungle's edge. Finding nothing dangerous there either, they spent the next five minutes circling the clearing, just in case. Discovering no visible threat, their leader walked back to the shuttle and shouted out, "all clear, Captain."

That simple statement created a flurry of activity from the shuttle's cargo bay. Susan, and the rest of those in the landing party quickly made their way down the shuttle's ramp, while behind them the huge shape of the first of the IPX rovers slowly appeared, being carefully driven down to the ground. Across on the other side of the clearing the second shuttle was lowering it's loading ramp, while the figure of Major Logan could be seen shouting orders at the IPX scientists, who were already beginning to disperse to examine the surrounding jungle.

Susan looked annoyed, and shout over to Lily, "Major, make sure everyone doesn't wander too far. I want to be gone from here as quickly as possible.

Major Logan waved to show she understood, and started shouting orders with more gusto, and included several hand gestures in the speeches, leaving the scientists with no illusions about what she was saying. Susan smiled and turned around the see what her own team was doing. She then frowned as she noticed Talia was missing, and for a second wondered if anything had happened to her. 

Then she felt the gentle touch of Talia's mind inside her own. < I am over here, Susan.> Susan turned, and saw Talia waving at her from the other side of the shuttle.  <I thought I would stay out of the way,> the telepath explained.

Susan nodded, and sent a quick thought of agreement into Talia's mind, before turning back to survey her team. As she knew they would, the marines were already working hard to unload the rest of the team's equipment. She tossed her own bag onto the pile that was being created, and then looked around as a new voice called out to her. 

"Is the rover all right over here, Captain?" Dr. Melis asked her from the hatchway of the huge rover.

"That's fine, doctor," she replied, before turning to the marines and saying. "As soon as everything is loaded on the rovers, I want everyone to stand clear so the shuttles can take off again."

The small force of soldiers signalled their understanding and went back to work with added urgency, loading the stack of equipment onto the rover. Fortunately there was not a lot. Susan had ordered most equipment loaded the previous day, and all that was left were a few items that had been decided on at the last minute, and the personal bags of the team members. Neither Susan nor Talia had a lot in their bags, just a few necessities and couple of changes of clothing. Dr. Melis' bags on the other hand, was the largest of the lot, literally overflowing with equipment that the doctor had insisted were absolutely necessary for him to work at peak efficiency. Susan wasn't exactly sure why a portable hologram player and a collection of the latest holovids counted as an absolutely necessary item, but had reluctantly agreed to allow the doctor to bring along what he thought he need. Of course, she hadn't told him that if they found the Sturt then most of his possessions might have to be left behind to make room for more passengers on the return journey.

It only took the force of marines two minutes to load everything, so Susan ordered them to help out the second team, just to ensure the job was complete before any serious power drain could occur. Actually, the pilots of the shuttles were still reporting the reactors at full power, but she wasn't about to take any chances. Something had drained the power out of the Sturt's systems, and she didn't want it to happen again.

Another two minutes, and both of the landing teams were scurrying for cover behind their rovers, as the two shuttles lifted off. Susan watched as they climbed up into the sky, waiting until she was sure they were going to make it before turning back to her team and saying, "All right everyone, time to go." 

"Susan," Talia suddenly called out, her voice sounding excited. "Come and take a look at this."

Susan looked around and saw the blonde telepath pointing towards something that was resting on a nearby tree branch. She walked over to Talia's side to get a better look, and saw that it was some sort of bird. It was fairly large, perhaps the size of a small eagle, and its feathers were a riot of colours, clashing violently with the surrounding jungle. "What is it," she asked Talia.

The telepath shrugged. "Some sort of local bird life I guess. It looks pretty though, doesn't it."

"I wouldn't touch it," Susan warned, suddenly noticing the sharp looking beak on the creature. "It might be dangerous." Then she noticed something strange and very out of place, two metallic looking protrusions on either side of the head. Before she could make a closer examination, however, the creature suddenly spread its wings and with a sudden flurry of feathers leapt into the air and quickly disappeared into the jungle.

Talia looked disappointed. "I think you scared it off, Susan," she said. "I wanted to get a holo."

"You're lucky it didn't try to chew your hand off," Susan replied, still looking in the direction of the now vanished bird. Something troubled her about the creature, a strange feeling in the back of her mind that something wasn't right. She could pinpoint the feeling though, so decided to forget about it for now, there were other things of importance to worry about. "Come on," she said to Talia. "We had better get aboard our rover. There may be other dangerous creatures out here."

Then Susan noticed Dr. Melis staring at her from the hatchway of the rover, an annoyed look on his face. "On second thoughts, it might be safer out here. There are dangerous creatures inside as well as outside."

"Captain," Melis called out loudly. "When are we going to depart. I thought you wanted this mission over as soon as possible."

Susan sighed, and turned back to Talia. "I guess we had better get moving. I don't think we are going to find out anything new around here. And, if what Melis thinks caused the power drain on the Sturt is correct, we don't want to hang around too long."

Talia nodded, and together the two women made their way back to the rover. Beyond their ride, the second of the rovers was already prepared, Major Logan hurrying all the scientist away from the jungle and into the massive armoured machine. Seeing Susan watching her, Lily waved, before closing the hatch on the second rover. Reaching her rover, Susan reached up, and permitted Melis and one of the marines to help her and Talia aboard.

Noticing the soldier's rank she said, "Sergeant Drake, do you have any experience with these sort of rovers?"

The sergeant looked a little surprise by the question, but quickly replied. "Yes, Captain. I served for two years in the cavalry, driving Janos-10 battle tanks, which have a similar cockpit design to these rovers. That was a few years ago now though."

Susan nodded. "Good," she said. "You can drive this thing then. I am used to shuttles and fighters, and wouldn't have a clue how a land vehicle like this works."

"I will get right on it, Captain," the sergeant replied, making his way towards the command cabin of the rover.

Beside her, Dr. Melis looked a little put out. "I know how to drive a rover, Captain Ivanova," he said. "Probably a lot better than that jar-head as well."

"But I need you elsewhere, doctor," Susan replied, not wanting the IPX team leader anywhere near the controls. He might be better qualified, but she would still prefer to have a marine driving, at least they were reliable. "We don't know what we may encounter out there, so I will need you free in case we encounter something unusual."

"I see," Melis replied. "Just one question though, Captain. How exactly are we going to find the Sturt? I have determined that most of our instruments will be useless once we enter the region covered by that cloud."

"I had the Rasputin's technicians program in the location the rocket was launched from. All we have to do is find our way to that location and hopefully we should find the Sturt there as well."

"And if we don't?" Melis prodded.

"Then we will have to fall back on more traditional methods," Susan replied.

"Which are?"

"We drive around until we find something," Talia cut in, answering for Susan. She smiled sweetly back at the doctor as he glared at her for interrupting.

"Exactly," Susan said, with a faint smile also on her lips. "Now, I think we had better get to our seats, I don't want to spend any longer than is necessary in this clearing. If it is responsible for draining the energy out of the Sturt, I don't intend on giving it the chance to do the same to us."

Melis nodded in agreement, and hurried away towards the command cabin. Talia looked around for a second, and then asked, "um, where do I sit, Susan?"

Susan blinked, realising that she hadn't made a place for Talia when she had arranged the seating the previous night. "You could sit in the cargo section with the marines," she mused. The look on Talia's face quickly showed Susan what she thought of the idea, and Susan quickly added, "or you could sit up in the command cabin. I think there is an empty seat. I was going to put Major Logan there, but she is on the other rover now."

"Sound good to me," Talia replied, walking down the passage towards the front section. Susan quickly followed, making her way along the narrow passageway. Although it looked large from the outside, inside the rover was cramped, with little wasted space. It's powerful reactor and sensors took up a lot of space, and very little had been left behind for creature comforts. Sleeping quarters were one of the things missing. Everyone on board would be sleeping in their seats, or not at all.

Located at the very front of the rover, just behind the protective armour plating, the command cabin was just as cramped as the rest of the rover. There were five seats, two located at the very front for the driver and sensor operator, and three others for passengers. Susan noted, with some aggravation, that Melis had already taken the middle seat, leaving her on the other side of the cabin from Talia.

She shoved aside her annoyance, however, and concentrated on the job at hand. Looking down at the sergeant she had collared for the position of driver, she said, "All right, Sergeant..." Susan paused for a second to read the marine's name tag. "Drake. Take us out of here, following the path as indicated. Let me know if you have any trouble."

"Roger that, Captain," the burly soldier replied, placing both his hands on the rover's steering column, before realising that he hadn't started the engine yet. He quickly flushed with embarrassment as Melis leaned forwards and flicked the starter switch. The engine started with a guttural roar, but was soon purring nicely, the noise dropping to a low background throb.

Susan quickly took her seat, just behind Drake and the marines who was in command of the rover's powerful sensor array. "Lets go, Sergeant," she said.

Drake nodded, and gently pushed the steering column forward. However, unlike the superbly engineered and balanced tanks he was used to driving, the rover was used to rougher handling, and it rumbled forward at the slowest possible speed. Drake quickly realised what he was doing wrong though, and shoved the column forward again. This time, the rover certainly started moving. It leapt forward with a rush of acceleration, almost throwing Susan and the rest of the passengers in the command cabin out of their seats.

Ahead the jungle seemed to lurch towards them, and then the rover smashed into it, its armoured exo-skeleton shattering saplings and even small trees that got in their way as they ploughed into the foliage. Crouching beneath a bush in the rovers path, a thoroughly frightened scout leapt aside as the giant machine tore through his hiding place, before watching as it rushing off into the jungle. The second rover quickly followed, although it was travelling at a more sedate rate.

As soon as the two rovers had left, the scout reached down to his belt and pulled out the communications device mounted there. The communicator was only supposed to be used in emergency situations, but Jarz realised that this was indeed an emergency. He looked over at the path of devastation the rover had torn through the jungle, and found to his amazement that the recording unit was still intact, somehow having survived the destruction of his hiding place. He quickly hurried over and plugged it in to the communicator, transmitting the recording from the sword hawk as well as his own spoken report.

 

* * *

 

Minutes later, in the distant fortress, the warrior Azrak walked into the throne room looking very worried about something. Spotting the shadowy form of his Mistress near the one of the windows that ran along the edge of the room, he hurried over. "Mistress," he called out as soon as he drew near. "I have just received a report from Pathfinder Jarz, one of the scouts you ordered sent into the lands of light."

"And what does he say?" a slightly bored voice asked.

"He says that more of the aliens have arrived," Azrak quickly informed her, his voice sounding worried about this new development. "Two of their ships landed in the same clearing as the first one, and they have sent strange machines into our lands."

The Mistress turned around and looked at the general. In her dark eyes, Azrak could see a gleam that hadn't been present before. "Good," she said, before walking slowly back towards her throne, which was located in the very centre of the room.

"Isn't this bad, Mistress?" Azrak asked, his voice betraying his confusion. "They must have come to rescue the others, and they may even have warriors of their own with them."

"I am sure they will, Azrak," she replied, sitting down on the cushioned throne with a sigh of pleasure. "I wouldn't go into an unknown, possibly hostile, land without some form of protection. Now pass me the scout's report. I will examine it."

Azrak nodded, and placed the recording device on the ground in front of him. Then, with a quickly worded command from the warrior, the device glowed and a holographic image appeared, displaying the recording taken from the sword hawk's cameras. It clearly showed the two alien shuttles landing, followed by the unloading of the rovers and crew, and then the subsequent departure of the ships and the rovers. Throughout the whole report, the Mistress sat quietly, observing what was happening, while beside her Azrak looked on nervously, especially when the EAS marines made their first appearance. 

Despite their fearsome countenance, the Chosen were not a violent species. Before the Mistress had arrived they had been nothing more than a loose collection of tribes, who survived by hunting for food during the jungle's night. Now, they were an army, but one that had never fought a true battle. They had chased a few unarmed Humans around the swamps, but they had never come up against an army with real weapons.

However, the Mistress didn't seem to notice her general's distress, or if she did, she gave no sign of noticing. Instead, as soon as the report finished, she sat back and began to contemplate what she had just seen. Azrak wasn't willing to let the matter drop just yet though, and moved around to the front of the throne. As soon as the Mistress had noticed him, he said, "Mistress, I am concerned about this. If these warriors bear powerful weapons, as it appears they do, then many of my warriors may die if we confront them."

"I see, Azrak," she replied, a faint undertone of amusement running through her voice. "You are fearful of death. I understand, I have lived with the daily threat of death for nearly eight hundred years. I expected more from you though, my faithful general. Perhaps you are not up to the task I require of you."

Whatever fear Azrak may have felt over confronting the aliens and their strange weapons, that was all swept aside by the thought that the Mistress might loose faith in him. "I am ready to die for you, Mistress," he quickly replied. "I will carry out your orders without question, and will not fail you."

She nodded. "I know, Azrak. But, I don't need you to die for me. There will be no deaths this day, or any other. That is not my way." Then, her voice started to grow sadder. "That was their way, not mine. I never wanted to kill anyone. It was always them, pushing me to fight, to kill."

"What do you want us to do then, Mistress," Azrak asked, quickly changing the subject. He remembered other times when she had spoken of "them." Each time she had been sad, as if remembering tragic moments from her former life, and like all the Chosen, Azrak wanted nothing more than for his Mistress to be happy. After all, she had spent centuries making their lives better, teaching them skills they could have never even imagined before her arrival. Compared to what they owed her, providing a little happiness should not be above her servants.

The Mistress stayed quiet for moment, thinking over her next move, before saying, "Tell your scouts they have done good work, Azrak." When he looked pleased, she continued. "Now summon your best warriors, the top twenty or thirty. Bring them here, I have a special mission for them."

Azrak bowed low. "Yes, Mistress," he replied. "I will chose the very best for your mission."

"Good," she said. "Now go, I have much to think about. Return with your warriors in two hours time." With that she stood again, and wandered slowly across the room towards the windows once more. 

After only a moment of hesitation, Azrak rose from his crouching position and started to make his way towards the throne room door. He was troubled by what the Mistress might be planning, imagining that it could involve an attack on these new warrior aliens. While he was by no means a coward, but the thought of going up against one of these aliens with just a sword and spear, was not something he relished. However, he would obey, that was his place in things. Reaching the door, he signalled for it to be opened, then he left for the barracks to carry out his Mistress wishes.

Behind him, the Mistress padded softly across the throne room on her bare feet. Despite her weakened condition, she felt a feeling of exhilaration running through her. Everything was falling into place, just as she had planned. The presence of soldiers with the rescue party gave her renewed hope that a warship waited in orbit above the planet. All she had to do now was convince these newcomers of her plight. Then, freedom awaited, and so did the Vorlons, wherever they had fled to.

Of course, she had to ensure that, no matter what else happened, no-one died. She knew that if anyone were to die, the Humans would be more difficult to deal with. It had been eight centuries since she had last been on Earth, but she still remembered how wars had begun over a single death. Actually they had often begun over a lot less than that, but she imagined that Humanity had progressed somewhat since her departure.

While she stood there, one hand against the window frame to stop herself from collapsing with fatigue, she suddenly remembered something she had to do. Azrak had been right about the dangers of his warriors fighting the Humans. They would quickly be killed against projectile weapons like the ones she had seen in the hands of the marines. However there was a way they could still survive. Reaching into her robe she pulled out a small device and pressed the only button that marred its smooth surface.

Second later, hobbling out from a hidden side door, the wizened figure of Morkazz approached. "You called for me Mistress?"

From her position by the window, the short figure of his Mistress didn't look around instead she said, "Yes Morkazz. Contact artisan Kaj. Tell her I have need of the special project I ordered her to begin. Then, escort her, and her apprentices, here. If their work is too heavy for them to carry alone, then get some servants to help you. Also, tell her I want at least twenty suits, and thirty if she has made that many."

"Yes Mistress," Morkazz said with a bow. He had no idea what she was talking about, but then lately a lot of the things she had been saying and doing had been unfathomable. He knew that Kaj was the oldest and most respected of the females, nearly as old as him. In the Chosen's society the females were generally did most of the tasks requiring nimble hands, while the males hunted. It had been that way for thousands of years, even before the fiery arrival of the Mistress. However, before they had done little more than cook the food, built huts and raise the hatchlings. Now, they worked on the vast projects the Mistress had designed, building the delicate circuits and devices that the male warriors would use.

Morkazz didn't know exactly what project that Kaj could be working on now, but knew that the artisan had been to see the Mistress not long ago, back when the aliens had first arrived. The Mistress had kept her in the throne room for several hours, and when she left, Kaj had been carrying several sheets of hari paper, the thin paper made of hari reeds that was commonly used for blueprints and other design work.

Since that day, many of the warriors, and even Morkazz himself, had tried to see what the artisan and her apprentices were working on, but Kaj had shooed them out of her workshop whenever they approached, so no-one knew what exactly what going on in there. Even Morkazz, who was the highest ranked of the Mistress' personal servants, knew little. Now, however, he was going to find out, and already he could imagine the new wonder the Mistress had designed to make the Chosen's life better. Eagerly, he closed the small side door leading into the throne room and made his way towards the lower levels, which housed the artisan's quarters.

 

* * *

 


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FOUR   


 

* * *

 

The tall trees of the jungle did not last long, and the two IPX rovers quickly found themselves in another world entirely. Gone was the lush vegetation, and in its place was a dark mockery of the healthy jungle that existed in the sunlit regions. The remnants of the ancient jungle could still be seen, tall trunks of once great trees reaching for the sky, reminding those who saw them of fire blackened ribs. But, that was all that was left, the rest of the jungle was gone, replaced with a low forest of giant fungi and other stunted plants.

Despite the feeling of devastation this view engendered, Susan found it eerily beautiful. It might not have the same feeling of wondrous life about it that the jungle did, but there was beauty to be found here nonetheless. Several species of plants and fungi possessed a phosphorescent glow to their leaves, and they gave the forest a faint glow, as if it were lit up by millions of fairy lights. It made her feel almost sad to watch the rovers tear into the forest of fungi like giant hungry beasts, destroying everything in their path.

That feeling soon passed though, as Susan realised that the lack of tall trees and jungle was making the going a lot easier. The tallest of the fungi barely even made it up to the top of the rover's wheels, and while there were a few taller plants, the journey should pass a lot quicker now. With luck it could cut the travel time from the originally expected day and a half, to a little over a day. If they followed the same path on the way back, the return trip would be even quicker. For a brief moment, Susan allowed herself to hope that this mission would be over a lot sooner than she had originally imagined.

Dr. Melis though, soon put an end to that hope. "What's that," he asked in a curious tone, pointing towards the window. Outside could be seen a small hill the rovers were currently passing. It was fairly unremarkable as far as hills went, but Melis seemed to have found something interesting about it.

"That's a tree," Susan replied, peering out the window in the direction the doctor indicated. On top of the hill it was just possible to see a tall tree-like shape jutting out from the summit.

Melis shook his head in disagreement. "No, it is too regular to be a tree. I think it is some sort of construction. Look around you, all the other trees are only there because they have vines and other parasites growing all over them. This one is alone on the top of the hill, with nothing growing anywhere near it."

Susan frowned, but then realised he was right. What she had first taken to be the bare trunk of a dead tree, was in fact something else entirely. "It looks like a pillar of some kind," she mused, watching the object carefully as the rovers were forced to alter their course to go around the hill.

"I think we should check it out," Melis said, looking excited by the prospect. "It might be important, and we can't pass up the opportunity to let something like this slip through our fingers."

"It is probably nothing," Susan replied. "Anyway, we are on a rescue mission and don't have time to check out every interesting object we might happen to pass. Mark it on the navigation system, and you can take a look another time. If it is here now, then I doubt it is going anywhere anytime soon." As she spoke though, a strange feeling was beginning to creep into her thoughts. At first she dismissed it, but then the feeling began to grow in strength. It was as if the pillar was calling out to her, urging her to come closer. 

"It won't take long," Melis argued. "All we have to do is walk up to the top of that hill. It would take ten minutes at the most. It might have something to do with this storm, and if that's true then we can't miss this opportunity."

Despite her better judgement, Susan found herself agreeing. "Very well, Doctor," she said. "We will investigate, but only for fifteen minutes, no longer. I don't want to hold up this mission any longer than necessary." She turned to the marine in charge of the rover's sensors, and communication system. "Signal the other rover of our intentions," she ordered. "Tell them to stop and wait until we return, and also that no-one else is permitted outside without my permission."

"Understood, Captain," came the snappy reply from the sensor operator.

Talia looked at her with a faintly worried look on her face.  <Are you sure you know what you are doing, Susan?> she asked telepathically.  <I thought you didn't want to stop every time some interesting artefact appeared.>

<I know I said that,> Susan replied.  <But there is something interesting about this pillar, something very interesting indeed.>

"Captain," the sensor operator suddenly interrupted. "Major Logan wishes to join you if you are going anywhere outside the rover, and asks if she can send a bodyguard along as well."

Susan's first thought was to turn down the Major's request, but after considering what they faced, she agreed with the idea. After all, she didn't know what was out there, and despite the strange compulsion she felt to examine this object, she wasn't about the go outside without protection. There could be anything waiting for them out in the darkness. "Tell the Major to join us as soon as she can," she said, getting out of her chair and moving towards the rovers hatch.

Talia and Melis quickly joined her, and all three left the command cabin together. As she walked down the narrow corridor towards the hatch, Susan felt almost as if she were being guided somewhere, and that her feet were travelling almost without her direction. Normally she would have found this most alarming, but for some reason what was happening to her seemed right. She felt as if there was something important about this pillar, something she had to see, and that if she didn't see it, then something bad was going to happen. 

 

* * *

 

Jarz stopped his pursuits of the alien machines for a second, just long enough to pluck two juicy white worms from the pile of broken mushrooms that marked the passage of the rovers. After wiping the dirt off them, he dropped them into his mouth, relishing the soft, honey-like flavour of their flesh. Then, he turned his attention back to tracking the aliens.

Actually it wasn't a difficult task, their machines had left a trail even an untrained hatchling could follow with ease. Despite the devastation though, Jarz realised that the environment had suffered little permanent damage. Floating through the air in front of him, the scout could see thousands of tiny white filaments, spores from the damaged fungi. Soon they would settled and grow, replacing their damaged parents. In about three weeks there would be almost no trace of the damage caused.

He didn't have time to stand around and watch the spores floating about though, he had aliens to track. After tossing another couple of worms into his belt pouch for an afternoon snack, he continued his run, following the wide trail the rovers had left. To his surprise, he soon caught up with the two alien machines, stopped just down the trail from where he had found the worms. He quickly ducked into behind a fallen log, crouching down so they could not see him.

There he watched as a small group of aliens set out from their machines, making slow progress across towards a nearby hill. Jarz scratched an itchy spot on the top of his round head, wondering why the aliens had abandoned their machines. From what he had been told, they were not very mobile through this sort of landscape, and he wondered why they would try to walk through the forest of fungus without their machines. Curious, he edged closer.

It was then he saw it, a tall pillar riding above the hill. He knew at once what it was, and who had put it there. Like many things in his society, the pillars were something that only a few were every permitted to know the truth about. But, despite this, stories always seemed to filter down to the lower ranks. So, like the other younger warriors, Jarz had heard the story of these pillars, and the creatures who had made them.

It was rumoured that before she came to this world, the Mistress had been enslaved by an evil race of creatures that travelled among the stars. Jarz knew about stars, of course, having seen them during his journeys through the jungle beyond the Mistress' domain. To him though, they were just lights in the sky, and of little value to anyone. The Mistress, however, seemed to put great value in them, and the stories often mentioned of her desire to return to the stars and rain vengeance down on those who had wronged her.

This evil race that had imprisoned her was also supposed to be responsible for the construction of the pillars. Legend said that the evil ones built them as a barrier to prevent the Mistress from escaping her prison. They were also said to have been a warning to others who may come, like the aliens who now walked on this world, a warning that none could resist. Jarz knew as well that the Mistress had ordered them all destroyed centuries ago, but somehow this one must have survived the search, for here it stood, still intact. For a moment he thought about informing his superiors back in the fortress, but chose instead to wait and see what happened when the alien's reached the pillar.

 

* * *

 

After spending the last five minutes walking across this dark landscape, Susan was beginning to change her opinion of its beauty. Up close, it lost its gloss, and began to resemble a rotting corpse. The mushrooms and other fungi became parasites, leaching away the life from the world, and the phosphorescent glow of the leafy plants took on an eerie, ghost-like quality. But worst of all was the stench of rotting vegetation.

Inside the rovers there had been no smell at all, but outside the stench of rot hung heavy in the air, permeating everything. Susan and the rest of the small group that had set out to investigate the pillar were wearing filter masks as a precaution, but they provided little protection against the smell. 

So, they had been forced to put up with it, trying to ignore it as they slogged slowly through the muddy soil towards the top of the hill. Fortunately there must not have been any rain recently and the ground was still reasonably hard. Susan could tell that if it had rained any time in the past week, the ground would have been so soft that they would not have been able to walk up the steep slope of the hill. As it was, she had already slipped over once, catching herself just in time. Dr. Melis had not been so lucky, and shortly after starting up the hillside found himself sliding back down again, his expensive suit now covered with mud. It certainly hadn't done much to improve his attitude.

"How much longer," he called out for the third time in two minutes.

She choose not to answer this time, just continuing her walk up the hill. Melis grumbled about arrogant Earthforce officers, but didn't slow his walk. Behind both of them Talia and Major Logan were walking slowly up the hill, conducting their own private conversation. Susan felt a brief stab of jealousy, before dismissing it, remembering with the absolute certainty that only joined minds could give that Talia was in love with her, and not about to leave her again.

Turning back to the climb, Susan continued on, walking as fast as she could. The feeling of being drawn towards the strange structure had grown, and with it a feeling of profound disquiet. Susan now felt as if she was being led there by some power beyond her control, but when she tried to slow down or turn around, found that her feet would not obey her commands, and that she was compelled to continue on.

Finally the group made it up to the summit of the small hill. Before them, rising out of the muddy ground was the object of their expedition, a dark stone pillar. It looked as if it had been crafted by some primitive tribe, and they could almost imagine the pillar being chipped out with stone axes and chisels.

"Well, that doesn't look like much," Melis said, a tone disappointment in his voice. "It was hardly worth coming all this way for."

"It's Vorlon," Susan replied softly, her voice seeming distant. She felt herself pulled closer, and despite trying to resist her hand slowly raised to touch the stone surface of the pillar.

"How do you know," Melis asked in surprise, looking over at her. "Have you seen this sort of thing before."

Susan didn't reply. Instead, she reached out to touched the pillar. She found its surface smooth and cold, with no indentations or other markings. It was like touching stone, but it didn't feel like stone, instead it felt somehow alive. Then, she felt a faint electrical shock run through her, and suddenly she no longer stood on the muddy hilltop. Instead she was elsewhere, somewhere cold and almost equally desolate.

It took a few seconds for her to realise exactly where she was, but then she recognised the snow-covered street she stood on as the same one her family's home had been on, back when she was a child in St. Petersburg. In front of her lay an old store, a place her father had always forbidden her to go near during her childhood. She remembered always wanting to find out what was inside the store, but she had been too afraid. She was an adult now, but she still felt a feeling of growing trepidation at the sight of the boarded up windows and cracked paint.

Finally, she summoned up enough courage to take a step forward, and moved closer to the darkened doorway of the store. Then, out of the shadows of the doorway, the figure of her father appeared. "Do not go there," her father said, his voice sounding the same as she remembered. "There are bad things in here." Her father then turned and looked down the street, and Susan followed his gaze to see her childhood home in the distance. For some reason it was glowing, and it seemed to exude a sense of warmth and comfort. "Go there," the image of her father said. "You will be safe there. Do not venture into the darkness, only death awaits you."

Susan frowned, suddenly realising that, while the person in front of her might look like her father, there was none of the warmth and love she was used to and the mannerisms of his speech were not those of her father. "Who are you," she asked, while at the same time opening her mind and attempting to read the thoughts of the being standing before her.

The results of her telepathic probe were immediate, not to mention violent. The false images of her father, along with the image of the street, vanished, exploding into a riot of colour and light. When her vision cleared she was standing in on a white plain, standing in front of an encounter-suited Vorlon. "Do not go any further," the Vorlon said, its voice sounding almost identical to Kosh's. "There is danger here, go back before it is too late."

Susan felt a feeling of fear begin to rise inside her. Despite that though, she managed to say, "I must." She became vaguely aware of a throbbing in her head, making it hard to think. She concentrated for a second and the throbbing left her, and with it went the feeling of fear the Vorlon had been generating. "There are people I must rescue. If I don't help them, they may die."

"Let them die," the Vorlon replied. It felt like Kosh was once again speaking just to her.  "You must not go any further, or you too will die. This world is quarantined, and none may walk on its surface without our permission. If you proceed you will be destroyed." The Vorlon turned around again and in the distance she could see a spark of light. "Go there," it said. "Go home, and leave this world while you still can." 

Susan felt a feeling of rage well up in her. She had been through a lot during the Shadow war and since, and the thought of the Vorlons still being able to tell her what to do, made her more than a little angry. "I will not leave," she said harshly, backing up her words with all the telepathic muscle she could muster. The image of the Vorlon seemed to waver for a second and then suddenly it vanished and Susan found herself standing before the pillar once more. 

"I said, have you seen this kind of thing before," came the voice of Dr. Melis from beside her.

Susan blinked to clear her head, and turned around to look at him. "No, I haven't," she replied. 

Beside her the pillar suddenly began to break up, large shards of rock sliding off and landing in the mud. Susan turned back just in time to see the pillar break in half and fall to the ground. As it shattered Susan felt her mind clear, and the compulsion that had been pushing her all the way up the hill faded away, becoming nothing but a memory.

"Well, that was unusual," Talia said, poking a fallen piece of the pillar with a muddy boot. "I wonder why it did that."

"It was probably because I touched it," Susan replied, not wanting to tell anyone about what she had experienced. Perhaps later she would tell Talia, but she didn't want the rest to know about the warning. This mission was already dangerous enough without everyone worrying about non-existent enemies. "Come on, lets get back to the rovers, we have wasted enough time on this already."

The others nodded, and after pausing to pocket a piece of the pillar, even Dr. Melis followed her back to the base of the hill. As she walked Susan wondered about the warning the Vorlon had tried to pass on to her. Perhaps there was something else alive on this world, something dangerous. After all, this world had never been settled by the Vorlons, and it was a life supporting planet, a rare commodity in a universe full of rocky worlds with no atmosphere. 

Then there was the strange circumstances of the Sturt's crash landing. The story of the energy drain just hadn't matched what she had seen when the shuttles had landed in the clearing. Neither shuttle pilot had reported even the slightest drain on their systems, and although it was possible that it didn't start until the ship had been there for a while, it still didn't match the story told by the IPX crew. On the other hand, she wasn't about to turn back and give up on her mission now. Compared to what she had faced before, this was nothing.

 

* * *

 

The lightning seemed to crash into the collection towers with increased vigour this morning, Azrak noticed, watching the rolling clouds rotate slowly in the sky above the fortress. He wondered if it had something to do with the arrival of this new group of aliens. He was beginning to get a very bad feeling about this mission the Mistress was about to send them on. It was as if some great change was coming, and when it arrived he wasn't sure he was going to survive.

Sighing, he turned back to look at the force he had gathered to carry out the Mistress' will. They were the finest warriors he had ever had the chance to serve with, a perfect mixture of experience and youthful vigour. Among his people, a male was not counted among the warriors ranks until he had reach the age of ten thousand cycles. Until then, he was only a worker, slaving away on the construction sites, or maybe a miner or servant. Azrak was five times that age and could barely even remember his time as a worker.

For a moment he felt old and tired, but then he remembered that however old he was, the Mistress was older. According to the records she had lived for nearly a million cycles, perhaps even more. Azrak shook his head, trying to image what it would be like living for that long. His life was nearly over, with perhaps another five thousand cycles left to him, if he was lucky. But she would survive long after he was gone, living forever.

Her voice stopped any further thoughts though, snapping his attention back to the throne. "Assemble your warriors, Azrak," the Mistress said. "I have arranged a special surprise for you."

Azrak nodded and gave the order for the warriors to form up into ranks. They quickly complied, although he noticed that a few were sneaking the occasional glance in the direction of the throne. He looked over, but saw that the Mistress hadn't noticed, so he decided not to discipline those responsible. After all, for most of those here this was their first visit to the throne room, and therefore a day to be remembered. He wasn't about to spoil it for them. Instead he made his way over to the Mistress' side and took up his position.

"What is this surprise, Mistress," he asked.

She turned to look at him, and when she replied there was an amused tone to her voice. "If I told you that then it would hardly be a surprise, would it." Then, seeing that Azrak didn't really understand her humour, she signed and explained. "Do you remember your concerns about the alien's weapons?"

"I was not concerned," Azrak quickly cut in. "I don't fear anything. I was merely interested to know how we were to capture creatures with such weapons." He then paused, and looked a little ashamed at interrupting her explanation.

She didn't seem to notice, waiting until he had finished speaking and then continuing. "I have asked artisan Kaj to build some protective clothing for you, something to stop the alien's weapons from harming you."

"Clothing?" Azrak asked, the tone of his voice leaving her in no doubt what he thought of the idea. The Chosen warriors usually wore as little as possible, claiming more clothing would restrict their movements, and make them vulnerable to predators like the Jurm snake. Of course, the fact that the Jurm snake was only found in one small region of the swamp didn't enter into the matter. The Mistress had once voiced the opinion that the warriors wore as little as possible so they could pose and hopefully attract the attention of the females, but she had not ordered them to do otherwise, so the practice had continued.

"This is important, Azrak," she said. "Without this protection you would be vulnerable to their weapons. With it, they will have no effect on you, and you will be able to capture them easily."

As soon as she finished speaking the doors opened, and artisan Kaj, followed closely by a group of her apprentices, entered the throne room. The gathered warriors quickly snapped to attention, standing as straight as they could. Grateful that the shadows she had gathered around her hid her smile, the Mistress gestured for Kaj to approach.

Standing beside the throne, Azrak's attention was not on the females, but rather the stacks of dark material they carried. It was tough looking, like the shell of a Tosim beetle, but at the same time it looked flexible. He wasn't happy with the idea, but he had to agree that if this was going to protect them from the alien's weapons then it had to be good. He had viewed the recording made by Pathfinder Jarz, and seen on the ISN broadcasts what the weapons could do. Faced with that evidence he had to admit that he was more than a little nervous about facing them in combat.

Kaj quickly made her way across to the throne, and ordered the piles of armour dropped on the ground. She bowed in the direction of the Mistress. "I am here as requested Mistress," she said after rising to look her leader in the eye. She was an impressive creature, tall for a female and well muscled from her long years in the workshops. Despite her age, her scales still gleamed a brilliant emerald colour, attracting the attention of many a warrior when she had time for dalliances. Even Azrak, who rarely found himself interested in a female these days, felt rising lust at her appearance.

"Good, Kaj," the Mistress relied. "Azrak here has just volunteered to be the first to try on the new armour. Please outfit him at once."

Kaj bowed again, and then turned her gaze on the leader of the warriors. Unlike the warriors, her gaze held no hint of romantic intentions, instead she observed the warrior only to determine what size armour he would require. After making the measurements visually, she turned to her apprentices, most of whom were her own hatchlings, and ordered them to begin fitting the armour.

Azrak looked a little nervous as the females swarmed around him, strapping on the dark, leathery material. Before he could complain though, most of his scales had vanished beneath the smooth armour, and he had an opportunity to examine himself. The armour felt strange, and would take some getting used to, but it seemed to fit him like a second skin, so smooth and flexible that it hardly even restricted his movements at all.

He quickly flexed his muscles, and found that the dark material expanded with his body, allowing him full movement in his upper arms and legs. Kaj looked him over with a appraising gaze, and asked a couple of questions about the fit. Based on his answers she made one minor adjustment, and then stepped back to pick up the final part of the armour, a large round section meant to go over the head.

Azrak immediately started to complain. "I will not wear that," he said to Kaj. "It will restrict my vision."

Artisan Kaj looked at him with a frown marring her beautiful face. "You must," she replied. "If you do not, then the circuit will not be complete and the suit will not work." Seeing Azrak's confused look, she muttered something about stupid males and pointed towards the centre of the warrior's chest. There, embedded into the material was a large blue crystal. "That is the storage crystal," the artisan explained. "It will collect the energy from the alien's weapon so it doesn't harm you. If you do not wear the head piece, then the circuit will not be complete and the suit will not work."

Azrak stared at the crystal for a second, and then relented, allowing the artisan to fit the head piece. To his surprise it wasn't restricting at all, fitting perfectly over his head, while still allowing him to see clearly. He turned towards the throne and looked at the Mistress with a questioning look on his face, as if asking her opinion.

"It will do," the Mistress said, standing and walking slowly over to Azrak's side. "As long as the suit makes them invulnerable to the alien weapons, then it will do." She turned back to Kaj and asked, "did you bring it."

The artisan nodded and passed over a small PPG pistol, one taken from one of the earlier captives. The Mistress weighed the pistol in her shadowy hand, as if getting a feel for the weapon. Then, in one swift motion she levelled the pistol and Azrak's chest and pulled the trigger. The warrior jumped, certain he was going to die. But, instead the bolt of plasma energy impacted on the suit with little effect at all, just a faint stinging feeling.

Looking down, he saw the front of the suit crackling with blue energy. The explosion of energy didn't last long though, quickly drawn off by the crystal. He looked up at the Mistress. "It seems to work," he said, realising that she had only fired because she knew it would not harm him. That, and the fact that she wanted to show the warriors gathered in the room why they needed the armour.

"Indeed it does, Azrak," she replied, tossing the pistol back to Kaj and making her way back to the throne. With a weary sigh, she lowered herself down onto the cushioned seat, and continued to speak. "This suit will protect you, and as you have seen it will make you invulnerable to their weapons. They will be at your mercy." 

Azrak nodded, and turning around to look at his warriors saw that many of them were already examining the armour, as if eager to try it on. He gave the order for them to do so and then turned back to the throne. "Perhaps now you will tell us of our mission?"

She nodded, and activated one of the display screens. It quickly lowered itself from the ceiling and when she switched it on, it bought up the image of the alien's landing. The warriors quickly focused their attention on the screen, as many had not seen this before. After allowing them to see the entire report once, she changed the view until it showed a picture of the two rovers.

"I want you to capture one of these machines, " she told the gathered warriors. "With your new armour it should not be too difficult."

"What about the aliens?" one of the warrior asked, before closing his mouth in a hurry and looking at the throne with a slightly frightened gaze, as if afraid he would be punished for speaking out of turn.

Both his commander, and the Mistress, however, chose to ignore his indiscretion. "I want them captured," she replied. "Whatever you do, I do not want them injured in any way. Bring them back here with the machine."

Close to the throne, Azrak leaned forward and asked a question in a low voice. "Am I to consider the lives of these aliens as more valuable than my own?"

She considered the question for a second before answering. "No, but I would prefer that none were injured during this mission. My plans may be compromised if any aliens are injured, but I do not want any of your warriors to be killed."

He nodded in understanding, and then he saw that she was growing tired. He had seen her like this before, whenever she tried to walk or do anything but sit on her throne. Realising that she needed to be alone, he quickly hurried over to his men and ordered them to leave, along with the artisan and her apprentices. Then, with a low bow in the direction of the throne, he also followed. He still had questions about the mission, especially why it was being conducted at all, but knew that the Mistress must have her reasons for what she did. All he could do is bring back the alien's machine as she had requested.

Back on the throne, the Mistress felt her strength beginning to fade away. Usually when she was this tired she would retreat to her personal quarters above the throne room, to be alone until she recovered. Today though, her fatigue was too great and before she could call for her servants to assist her she succumbed to her exhaustion and slumped over. Her breathing, which had been ragged and desperate, grew more regular as much of her body slipped into unconsciousness. Then, the shadows she had shrouded herself with faded away, and she gathered herself into into a ball, hugging her knees, while resting her head against the cushioned arm of the throne, her dark hair cascading down the side of the tall chair.

Across the throne room, a small door opened, and through it stepped her counsellor, Morkazz. He had been told by Azrak of the Mistress fatigue, and had hurried to see what he could do. Approaching the throne though, his thoughts of assistance changed to amazement, as he glanced on the true features of his Mistress for the first time. Suddenly everything she was doing made sense, and he realised why she had hidden herself from his people, and why she was interested in these aliens.

He knew also that the others must not find out yet. While they would still respect her when they knew the truth, they did not need distractions right now, not when she had important work for them to do. Setting his staff aside, the old servant reached down and gathered the Mistress' tiny figure in his arms, carrying her across the throne room. After a quickly worded phrase a set of stairs suddenly appeared, spiralling their way down from the ceiling. 

Morkazz looked at the stairs and sighed, realising the pain he was going to be in after he climbed them. Concern for his Mistress filled his thoughts though, and so he carried her up the stairs to her personal quarters, ignoring the jolts of pain shooting up his injured leg. Above him, the doorway in the ceiling spiralled open and allowed him entrance into the Mistress' personal quarters. He had never been here before, and knew that she permitted none but the blind female servants access here. He also knew that these were special circumstances, and so he continued.

Stepping into her room, he looked around in amazement, surprised by what he saw. Strange devices that he had never seen before filled the room, and most strange of all was a large piece of furniture covered with soft looking cloth. Before he could decide what to do, a voice spoke. "Put her down on the bed," it said.

Morkazz looked around, before suddenly recognising the speaker. It was Harj, one of the blind females who served as the Mistress' servants. Before the Mistress' arrival the blind and lame were left to die, but after she had become the leader of the Chosen, the Mistress had ordered that they be made her personal servants, which not only kept them alive, but also gave them a purpose in their lives. Morkazz himself owed his life to this decree, for otherwise his existence might have been over when he had been injured during a hunting accident, the tusks of a Tosim beetle slicing open his leg and leaving him lame.

"The bed?," he asked. "What's that."

Harj pointed towards the strange piece of furniture he had seen earlier. "That is a bed," she replied. "The Mistress likes to rest on it when she is tired. Put her there and then leave. My sisters and I will help her."

Morkazz nodded, and then gently lowered the Mistress onto the bed, watching as she seemed to melt into the soft material. "Will she be all right," he asked.

"In time," Harj replied, as she reached down and pulled the soft covering on the bed over the Mistress' body. Morkazz realised, that although she was blind, she knew this room better than he did with his full vision. Then, when the Mistress was safely tucked up in her bed, the blind servant looked up at him. "You saw her?"

Morkazz nodded, before remembering that Harj couldn't see his movement and saying, "Yes I did."

"You will not tell anyone," the female servant said firmly. 

The servant was only small compared to Morkazz, but he knew that her devotion to the Mistress was such that he couldn't even think about disobeying her commands. "I won't," he promised.

Harj nodded, as if satisfied. "Good. Now go, she will recover in a few hours. Return then with her elixir, she will need it to fully recover."

Morkazz nodded and started back down the stairs, ignoring the worsening limp in his leg. He did not know what the Mistress would do when she learned that he had seen her true face, but he would obey her no matter what. She had given his people so much, and asked nothing in return. She was the heart and soul of his entire race now, and the small fact that she was not one of them was not about to make to make him betray her now. In fact, he felt even more devoted to her than ever now, realising that she had devoted centuries of her own life to help those not even of her own species.

 

* * *

 

The two rovers had driven through the day and into the night, following the invisible path that led towards their goal, the tiny dot on the map where they would hopefully find the crashed survey ship. As they moved further and further away from the jungle, the landscape had changed again. Gone were the forests of fungi and stunted shrubs, and they had found themselves in a dank swamp.

Instead of the straight path they had been following, the two rovers had been forced to continually bypass the pools of stagnant water, weaving their way across the swampy ground. This had made the going a lot tougher than expected, as along the shores of the swamp a new kind of forest had grown. Now, instead of a low forest of fungus, a tightly woven mass of plant life had blocked their path. Vines seemed to clutch at them as they passed and more than once they had been forced to use the cutting lasers, mounted at the front of the rovers, to slice away a path through the vegetation.

However, as day passed into night, the trees had faded away and the landing party found themselves driving across a plain of reeds. The ground was soft and slippery, but the rovers were equipped for such conditions, extending sharp spikes from their metal wheels. These spikes extended just before the wheel touched the ground and then retracted as it left the surface, allowing the rovers to grip the slippery ground properly.

Satisfied with their progress Susan had ordered the command crew of her rover to get some sleep. Then, after she made sure the rover's driver would wake her if there were any problems, she had allowed herself the luxury of a short nap. She had only originally planned for a couple of hours rest, but those two hours soon turned into six. The ride through the reeds was very comfortable and smooth, and the hissing of the reeds against the rovers outer surface, strangely relaxing.

In the command cabin Sergeant Drake finished his shift at the controls, and passed on that responsibility to one of his soldiers. Somehow they had managed to complete this change over without waking anyone, despite Drake's replacement dropping a heavy clipboard on the metal floor. It had struck the floor with a loud bang, a noise that echoed around the room for what seemed like forever. No-one woke though, and the only reaction came from Talia who turned in her sleep and muttered something inaudible.

That had been three hours ago, and now the landscape outside was beginning to change again. The reeds were starting to thin out, and ahead could be seen another forest. This one was different again, appearing to be made up entirely of eerily glowing trees, their phosphorescent nature visible even from this distance. It was like driving down a dark lonely road, and then seeing the lights of a town in the distance. This time though, the glow wasn't from anything man made, but instead it came from the trees themselves. Each different variety seemed to glow with a slightly different colour, creating an amazing mural of yellows, whites, and reds.

The new driver, Private Alexi Hvasanov, didn't see the beauty in the scene though. Instead he groaned as he realised that he was going to have to wake the Captain. He had enjoyed the past three hours. It had been somehow restful and relaxing, just driving across a flat landscape, with nothing to worry about but keeping the rover in a straight line. He was about to call out when he suddenly spotted something, a path that seemed to lead through the forest. He glanced down at the navigation display, and saw that the needle indicating the required direction was pointing straight towards the path.

Almost amazed at this sudden stroke of good luck, he turned the rover onto the path. The forest closed around the rover, and for a moment Hvasanov had the impression of driving down a tunnel of light. For a moment he seriously considered switching off the rover's lights, which currently shone only on the road directly ahead of him, and relying solely on the glow from the forest. But reason soon reared its head and he dismissed that idea. While the phosphorescent glow was strong, it was nowhere near powerful enough to light up the path in front of him like the double row of spotlights mounted underneath the front of the rover. So, he just sat back, and concentrated on driving, watching the incredible forest pass by.

So rapt was he in the forest, he didn't notice the obstruction until it was too late. Suddenly, a log appeared across the path, blocking their passage. For a second Hvasanov's blood ran cold, and he could see disaster approaching. But, the log looked bigger than it first appeared, and he sighed in relief as he realised that the rover was going to pass over it without any major damage. He didn't have time to slow down though, so it was still going to cause a bump.

Then it struck, the rover shuddering as it hit the fallen log. The log, rotten with age, exploded under the weight of the massive machine, sending shards of wood in all directions. It wasn't as bad as he had originally thought, but the damage had already been done. Behind Hvasanov the Captain stirred in her seat. After a long yawn Susan opened her eyes and blinked, before glancing down at the sheepish looking driver with a questioning expression on her face.

"Sorry for the bump, Captain," he said apologetically, before turning his attention back to the rover's controls, intent on keeping an eye open for any further obstructions.

Susan frowned for a second, wondering who the new driver was. It took a few seconds for her sleep clouded brain to dredge up the order she had given Drake about a roster system for drivers. This private, she realised, must be the sergeant's replacement. After rubbing her eyes to clear them of the last vestiges of sleep, and yawning again, She looked around the command cabin. 

In the sensor operator's chair, the same marine who had been their the previous day was fast asleep in his chair, his snores resounding around the cabin like a chainsaw. She shook her head in amazement, wondering how she had managed to sleep through that racket. Behind him, Talia sat curled up in her chair, somehow also still asleep. She was resting her head on her hands, and there was a faint smile on her lips as if she was dreaming. Susan watched her for nearly a minute, marvelling at the way Talia still looked so beautiful, even when she was fast asleep.

Unclasping the safety belt from around her waist, Susan walked across the gently swaying cabin to Talia's side. The telepath looked so comfortable that Susan didn't want to disturb her. Instead, she brushed aside a few errant strands of hair and turned around to speak to the driver. It was then she noticed that Dr. Melis was missing. She stared at his empty seat for a few seconds, before asking, "Private, where is Dr. Melis."

"I don't know, Captain," Hvasanov replied with shrug of his broad shoulders. "He wasn't here when I arrived to take over from Drake."

Susan frowned, remembering that he had been here when she ordered everyone but the driver to get some sleep. Then she also shrugged, and decided to take his seat, which was after all the one set aside for the rover's commander. The doctor would probably appear in due course, and she only hoped he wasn't going to be any more irritable than he already was due to his lack of sleep. That was assuming of course that he wasn't sleeping somewhere else. Given the amount of baggage he had bought with him, Melis probably had a mattress inside one of his bags, and was even now asleep on a soft bed somewhere.

She yawned again, then stretched, trying to work out the kinks in her muscles. Then, still feeling tired for some unknown reason, she looked out the front window at the forest that was rushing past outside. She frowned, realising that although the rover was passing through a thick forest there was almost no noise. Before, when they had gone through the thick vegetation near the swamp the noise had been almost deafening. "Where are we?" she asked Hvasanov.

"Um, in a forest, Captain," he offered

"I can see that, Private," she said. "Why is the rover getting through it so easily."

"We are on a path," the driver replied. "I was going to wake you when we reached the edge of the forest, but then I spotted this path, and decided to go down here instead."

Susan raised an eyebrow at that explanation and moved closer to the window, looking down to where the lights from the rover lit up the path ahead of them. She quickly determined that what Hvasanov had said was correct, they were indeed travelling down a path. However, there was something about it that was wrong. It was too regular, too clean to be natural. Naturally occurring paths like this just weren't possible. Nature was curved, it didn't have straight edges, and this path was most definitely straight. It shot like an arrow from the edge of the reeds, right through the heart of the forest.

It was obvious that someone, or something built this path, but for what purpose Susan couldn't even begin to imagine. She didn't have long to think about it though, as in the chair beside her Talia stirred and softly called out her name. Susan quickly looked over, but saw that the blonde woman's eyes were still closed, which meant that she must have called out in her sleep. Then the rover struck another bump and Talia's eyes flickered open.

"Good morning," Susan said.

"Is it morning already?" Talia asked, sounding faintly disappointed. "I was just having the most wonderful dream."

Mindful that they were not alone, Susan didn't ask Talia what her dream had been about, although she had a pretty good idea. She knew that some of the command staff probably knew about their relationship, but she didn't want the rest of the crew to know, especially when it went against standard Earthforce policy. Of course, Talia wasn't actually a member of Earthforce, but she was a telepath, which in some ways might be considered worse.

So, instead of asking out loud, she kept reached out with her mind. < Was it about me?> she asked telepathically.

Talia looked at her and smiled.  <How did you guess?>

<You were calling out my name,> Susan replied, a faint look of amusement on her face.

Talia blushed.  <Did anyone else notice?> she asked, glancing around the cabin. Then she realised that no-one else was here except her, Susan, the driver, and the snoring sensor operator, who seemed to be able to sleep through anything. She stared at the driver for a moment, but he still had his eyes on the road, and his thoughts were on things other than her possible relationship with Susan.

Then she noticed someone missing. "Where's Melis," she asked, switching back to normal speech.

Susan was about to say that she didn't know, when a noise behind her distracted her. Looking towards the passage way, Susan saw the errant Dr. Melis suddenly appear. clutching a chunk of rock in his hands. "This is amazing stuff," the doctor said excitedly, taking the last remaining seat. He didn't seem to notice that Susan had stolen the central seat, which had been his the previous day. 

"What's that?" Susan asked, looking at the curious rock he held.

"It is a chunk of that pillar," Melis explained. "I have been examining it. It has some very interesting properties indeed. It appears much like normal stone, but when you look closer it is possible to see that it is also alive."

"Have you been up all night with that?" Susan asked him.

Melis looked confused by that question. "What do you mean?" he asked. "It has only been an hour hasn't it."

"Try seven hours," Susan said, shaking her head in amazement. "We are nearly at our destination. With any luck the Sturt should be just over the other side of those hills." She pointed out of the front window at a line of hills that were just coming into view in the distance, appearing as little more than as dark blobs.

Melis glanced briefly out the window, but it was too dark to see any details. "Well I guess I was distracted then," he said. "I was back in the lab, checking this rock with every experiment that I could think of."

Susan realised that he meant the small on board lab that the rover possessed. It was right at the very back of the vehicle, behind the passenger and cargo sections, and was mainly for examining samples to determine their worth before sending them back to the mother vessel for a more thorough analysis.

"I think you might have been better served getting some sleep," she said.

Melis looked indignant. "I feel fine. Anyway there will be plenty of time for sleep when we get back to the Rasputin. If I feel tired I can just use stims."

Susan looked less sure. Stims were never a replacement for real sleep, as Franklin had proved back on Babylon 5. However, she didn't want to spend the morning debating the matter with Melis, so conceded the argument and turned back to Private Hvasanov. "Where is the other rover?" she asked.

The driver quickly scanned his instruments, before snapping his eyes back to the path in front of him. "They are about a kilometre behind us," he replied, not taking his eyes away from the window.

Susan frowned. "Why are they all the way back there," she said. "Get me them on the link."

Hvasanov nudged his companion in the sensor operator's chair. The other marine was instantly awake, cut off in mid snore. "Was is it," he asked.

"Call up the other rover," Susan told him. "I want to speak to them."

The sensor operator nodded, and without even a trace of sleepiness, activated the link to the other rover. The connection crackled with static, probably caused by the storm overhead, but everyone in the command cabin could soon hear the voice of Major Logan over the speaker. "What is it?" the Major asked.

"Why are you so far back?" Susan asked her. "I want us to keep together. Otherwise we could lose you, or you lose us. It is safer for everyone if we remain close together."

Logan's reply sounded slightly irritable, as if she hadn't got a lot of sleep during the night. "I will do what I can, Captain," she said. "Logan out."

Susan wondered what was eating the Major today, but decided not to press her. Instead she turned back to the window and watched the dark landscape outside slowly passing by. The forest of glowing trees was starting to thin out now, and the rovers were now starting to head into a range of small hills, the ones she had pointed out to Melis earlier. Fortunately the path they were on seemed to head through a small gap in the hills, ensuring that they wouldn't have to climb to get over them. 

Once again the feeling that the path had been constructed by some intelligence struck her. For a second the warning the Vorlon's had left behind came back to her, and Susan wondered if there wasn't something to it after all. Perhaps there was an alien intelligence out there, watching them and luring them in. For a minute she even wondered if the rocket from the Sturt hadn't been a ploy by this invisible alien, designed to bring them down to the surface so they could be eaten or have their bodies mutilated by sharp instruments, just like in the old vids.

Shaking her head she dismissed the idea. If the readings were correct then the Sturt was just over the other side of these hills. Her goal was close and it wouldn't pay to let irrational fears eat away at her confidence. She needed to be strong, to be a leader. Somewhere close by was the object of their mission and she would be damned if she was going to turn back now, especially because of some message from a now vanished race.

 

* * *

 

Azrak held up his hand, calling a halt to the march. Far below he could see something out of place, two sets of lights making their way towards the gap in the hills. Nothing he knew created light like this, except the devices the alien bought with them. Certainly none of his people would ever waste energy in this manner. This meant that the lights must mark the locations of the two machines he was sent to attack. He quickly called up his second in command and pointed out what he had seen.

"Look," Azrak said, pointing down towards the lights. "There are our targets. You see how one is slower than the other. We will capture that one. That way the other one may not realise that its companion is missing."

"Where do we attack?" his second asked.

The tall general stopped and thought for a second. Then the solution came to him. "There," he said, pointing towards the base of the hill. "The path leads through there, and then splits in two. The aliens will be going to meet with their companions in the swamp, so they will go down the main path. We will capture the second machine before then, and take it down the side path. That is also the quickest way back to the fortress."

The slightly shorter warrior at his side nodded in agreement. "That is a good plan. The side path also leads to the construction area, and it is a straight journey from there to the fortress. Now all we need to do is stop this machine."

Azrak nodded, his mind already working on the problem. He could see that the alien machines were still some distance from the hills, while his men could be at the ambush site in less than a minute. That should give him plenty of time to come up with something. He looked back at the rest of the warriors. "Come," he ordered. "We march."

The warriors, all clad in the new armour, quickly gathered up their equipment, which consisted mainly of their weapons and a small bag of food each. Only seconds later they were ready and resumed their march, making their way down the steep hill slope towards the chosen ambush site.

Overhead, a crash of thunder sounded, and slowly at first, but then growing in strength, rain began to fall. Soon torrents of water were falling from the sky, turning the soft ground of the hillside into slippery mud. The warriors though, marched on, the long claws on their feet allowing them to grip the slippery ground with a lot better traction than most other creatures could achieve. They ignored the rain, allowing it to run off their armour. Even if it could reach their skin they would not have been worried. Their scaled hides were not troubled by a little rain, and the importance of their mission would have negated any discomfort anyway.

 

* * *

 

Lily peered out of the rover's window in frustration. It was all very well for the Captain to tell her to go faster, but this rain was making it impossible to see anything, let alone where they were going. She found the Captain's orders more than a little irritating, almost as though Ivanova was speaking to her like a child, asking her to keep up or be left behind. 

Then, she sighed, realising that she had little choice. "Try to catch up with the other rover," she told the driver. Unlike Susan she hadn't allowed any of the IPX scientists in the command cabin, restricting them to the passenger section only. Instead, she had two marines, the only two on this rover, at the controls. That had meant that each marine, including Lily herself, had been forced to take a shift driving, while the others slept.

"It is difficult going, Major," the current driver, Private Hawke replied. "Visibility is down to almost nothing in this rain."

Lily was about to tell him to try anyway, when a loud clang sounded through the entire rover and it shuddered, coming to a sudden stop. "What the hell was that," she asked. "Did we break an axle or something."

The other marine, Anderson, quickly scanned the sensor console. "Everything looks fine here, Major," he said. "These vehicles should be able to get through almost anything, so I don't think it is anything wrong with the rover."

"What then?" Lily asked.

"Just a minute," Anderson said. "I will bring up the external camera."

She looked over his shoulder as one of the screens in front of him cleared to show the image of a large log caught behind one of the front wheels, the right one by the look of the picture. "That is the problem," Anderson said, pointing to the log. "Someone will have to go out and cut it away."

"I will do that," she replied, without a moment hesitation. "Hawke, you can come with me."

The driver nodded, and switched off the rover's systems before following Lily towards the hatch. There she said a few words to the IPX scientists, informing them of what had occurred, before opening the hatch and stepping out into the rain. It was still pouring down, and visibility had now been reduced to only a few metres. Lily was forced to feel her way along the edge of the rover, searching to the troublesome log. Her uniform was quickly soaked, but she ignored it, turning all her attention on completing the task at hand.

She soon found the log, wedged behind the front wheel on the right side of the rover. It had been splinted by the impact, but was still stuck behind the wheel, preventing the rover from moving. With a nod to Hawke she grabbed hold of one end and dragged it away from the wheel. To her surprise it came free fairly easily. She had been thinking that she would need a laser cutter to get it out. At least something was going right for her today.

Then, a muffled sound behind her suddenly snatched her attention away from the log. She spun around, just in time to see Hawke being dragged off into the darkness by a large black monster, its hand covering his face. Seeing two more of the monsters approaching through the rain, Lily quickly knelt down and drew her PPG pistol, cursing herself for leaving her rifle stowed inside the rover. When the monstrous beings didn't stop, she levelled the weapon with the closest one and pulled the trigger, squeezing off several shots.

The plasma energy hit the creatures all right, but instead of killing them it only seemed to slow them down temporarily. The energy seemed to play across their bodies, before being drained away by something. Then they were on the move again, heading straight towards her. Lily quickly turned and ran towards the hatchway, hoping that the rifle she had stashed inside would prove more effective. As she ran she squeezed off another couple of shots, scoring direct hits both time, but not stopping her attackers.

Then, she suddenly found herself lying on the ground, something having swept her feet out from beneath her. Another of the creatures, this one even larger than the others, loomed over her, clutching a greenish-yellow sword in its hands. Lily tried to get away, but the creature lowered the sword to her throat. "You will not move," it said in perfect English.

If their sudden arrival had surprised her, the fact that they spoke English left her gasping in amazement. The creature seemed to take her lack of movement as submission and reached down to snatch the pistol from her hands. Lily let him take it, realising that it wasn't any use against these creature's anyway. Instead she decided to go along with whatever they wanted, looking for a chance to escape later.

The tall alien standing over her turned away and looked towards one of the others. "Are they all captured?" he asked.

The other alien nodded. "Yes, General Azrak. Most were not warriors like this one. There was only one other who resisted, and it has now been captured. The others did not resist us."

"Good Hataz," Azrak said. "Take this one on board and put it with the other warriors."

The alien called Hataz nodded, and grabbed Lily in its claws, slicing into her uniform, but fortunately not her skin. It then dragged her onto the rover, and along the passage way to the command cabin. There she found herself tossed into a corner with Hawke and Anderson. "What the hell is going on, Major?" Anderson whispered to her. "Who are these guys?"

The aliens in the room looked around as if interested in what Anderson was saying. She quickly motioned for him to be quiet, but it was too late. The tall one called Azrak looked at her and said, "You are the one known as Major?"

Lily sighed, realising now that these creatures were highly intelligent, and it was going to be difficult hiding anything from her. "That is my rank," she replied. "My name is Lily Logan."

"Lily Logan," the creature said, as if trying to get a feel for the name. "I know of ranks. The Mistress told us about them. I am General Azrak, leader of the Chosen. You must come with us, the Mistress wants to speak to you."

"And what if I don't want to speak to her?" Lily asked.

Azrak looked confused. "Why would you not want to speak to the Mistress?"

"Never mind," she replied. "What are you going to do with us."

"Do you know how to make this machine move?" Azrak asked her. He pointed a claw in the direction of the controls as he spoke.

Lily glanced over and Anderson, as if searching for help. But, the other marine could offer nothing, so she turned to the alien general and said, "yes, I know how to drive the rover."

"Rover?" Azrak asked. "Is that what this machine is called?" When Lily nodded he looked pleased. "Then you will drive this rover for us," he told her. "You must drive it to the fortress. The Mistress awaits you there."

The other aliens then moved closer and hustled her into the driver's seat. "Drive," Azrak said again. "We will show you the way to go."

Lily sighed again, and switched on the rover's power supply. She realised that against such opposition she had little chance of escape, at least not until she knew a little more about them. However she had no intentions on letting them get away with the rover either. Realising that the alien's knew absolutely nothing about how the vehicle worked, she flicked a several switches on the control board. One switch activated the rover's communications system, while the other shifted fuel from the main tank to the reserve. With any luck the other rover would pick up their signals, but if that failed then the fuel transfer would soon exhaust the reactor's supply, shutting it down. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled when she saw that the alien's hadn't noticed anything. There were always other ways to fight a battle, and Lily was a master of finding a way out of even the stickiest situations.

 

* * *

 

Cradling the tiny phial of the glowing elixir in his cumbersome hands, Morkazz made the torturous journey back up the stairs to the Mistress' personal room. Behind him the stairs retracted, each step disappearing shortly after he had taken his foot off it. Progress was slow, as not only was the staircase tall and narrow, but with each step the pain in his lame leg seemed to grow worse. The counsellor gritted his fangs, and continued the journey, finally stumbling into the room at the top of the stairs.

The room looked much the same as when he had left last night. The only difference was in the Mistress. She was now sitting up on her bed, her pale skin gleaming in the dim light. Kneeling next to her, the blind servant Harj, was running a strange object through the Mistress' dark hair. Morkazz knew about hair of course, the prisoners in the mines below also possessed it. The Mistress' was different than the prisoner's though. It was longer, and much darker. In fact it was so dark that it seemed to absorb the light.

Morkazz shuffled his feet, feeling suddenly nervous about approaching the vulnerable, not to mention visible, form of his Mistress. He would not have felt the same before he had seen her, thinking her all powerful and invulnerable to injury. He knew different now, having seen how weak she really was. She seemed to sense his presence though, and motioned him to approach. He did so cautiously, not wanting to damage anything in her room. As he came closer she held out her hand, and with only a moment of hesitation he dropped the phial into her palm.

She tugged the stopper, and then swallowed the elixir in one quick gulp. Morkazz watch as her body shuddered for a second, and then she turned her head around to face him. "It is not working, Morkazz," she said, sounding a little sad.

"What, Mistress?" he asked, having no idea what she was talking about. He wasn't aware of anything that wasn't working. Perhaps she meant the attack Azrak and his warriors were carrying out on the alien machines. There had been no word back from the general, but that could also mean that he had not carried out the attack yet."

"The elixir," she replied, looking down at the empty phial in her hand. "It is no longer sustaining me as it once did. I seem to need more and more each day. Soon there will not be enough to keep me alive."

"Do you need another?" Morkazz offered, trying to avoid staring at her. He hadn't had time the previous night to get a good look at her features, but now he could see more. She was very similar to the aliens, but at the same time there was also something different about her. Had she been one of his race he might have been able to pick up what it was, but he was not adept at spotting the differences between the different aliens yet. All he had managed to determine so far was which ones were male and which were female, and that had taken him nearly a day of observation.

"No," she said, declining his offer of another phial of elixir. "Keep the three that are left in reserve. Soon I may need them."

Behind her, Harj finished whatever she was doing to the Mistress' hair and put the strange object aside. Morkazz glanced at it, noticing that it was made of wood, and was covered with what looking like the spines of a Guni beetle. The counsellor wondered why the Mistress would need to have something like that run through her hair. He realised that not possessing hair himself meant that there was much about it that he didn't understand. However, why anyone would subject themselves that that sort of torture was beyond him. The Mistress though, hadn't seemed in pain from Harj's ministrations. In fact, she had seemed almost peaceful.

"Perhaps we could siphon off more energy from the fortress," he suggested. "That would create more elixir, and..."

"I am afraid that the elixir is no longer what I need, Morkazz," she said, interrupting him. He looked back at her face, and saw that She was looking thoughtful, at least that was the impression Morkazz received. He knew he couldn't tell for sure, not being totally comfortable with reading her expressions. He was used to only seeing her eyes, and the fact that he whole face moved when she was talking was still something new to him.

"Besides," she continued. "The fortress is already running on minimal power. If I drained away any more then it would begin to die."

Morkazz looked confused by the mention of the fortress dying. He didn't see how a structure could die, especially something as large as the fortress. He began to wonder if the weakness she was feeling was beginning to effect her more than ever. Then he remembered that she had just taken the elixir, and her strength was at its greatest right now. Curious about her comment he asked, "how can the fortress die?"

The Mistress leaned back and allowed Harj to begin to work on her hair again. The servant quickly began to wind strands of the Mistress' hair around each other, creating some unfathomable pattern. It looked almost to Morkazz like the servant was trying to weave the Mistress' hair, just like one would weave a basket.

"The fortress has grown too large, Morkazz," she said, interrupting the counsellor's observation and focusing his attention back on their conversation. "And the collection towers can no longer supply it with all the energy it needs. Like me, it needs energy to survive. I require the elixir, you eat food, and the fortress needs raw energy. Also, just as you would die without food, it can not survive without energy."

"I understand, Mistress," the counsellor replied, although he was still a little fuzzy on the details. But, if she said it was so, then it must be true. "Shall I order more workers to the construction sites then? The next tower is almost complete and with more workers it can be finished by the end of the month."

The Mistress shook her head, much to the annoyance of Harj who was braiding her long dark hair. Despite being blind the servant was doing a good job, her work nearly half finished already. "No, not yet," the Mistress replied. "What is needed is something else. The cloud must be destroyed."

Morkazz frowned. The Chosen had tried for centuries to make it through the great ice field to the device that the Mistress said was creating the cloud. Every time though, they had been driven back by the extreme cold that surrounded the device. "How can we do that?" he asked.

"I have a plan," the Mistress replied. Then she glanced back at Harj. "Are you finished?" she asked.

Harj bowed low. "It is done, Mistress."

"Good, now get my robe."

Harj bowed again and hurried out of the room, heading through a door that Morkazz had not noticed before. As soon as she had left the Mistress looked up at Morkazz. "I must ask you something, Morkazz," she said. "Do you understand why the others must not know what I am."

Morkazz nodded. "I believe so, Mistress."

She stood for the first time since he had entered the room, and crossed to the counsellor's side. He could now see that she was dressed only in a thin white robe. Her body was still mostly visible through it, and he could see that she resembled the female aliens. Before he had time for further observation though she placed her hand on his arm, sending a cold chill running through his body.

"When it is time, I will tell them," she said softly. "But for now, it must remain a secret. You must not tell anyone yet, they would not understand."

"I will not tell them, Mistress," Morkazz promised.

"Good," she replied, removing her hand and turning away, looking towards the door Harj had vanished through.

Morkazz looked torn for a moment, but then finally decided to ask the question that had been troubling him for much of last night. "Mistress..." he began falteringly.

"I was, Morkazz," she said, somehow anticipating his question. "I was, but now I am... something else."

Morkazz nodded, not really understanding what she meant. He didn't want to press any more though, just in case he upset her. Fortunately, Harj soon returned, brining with her another of the blind female servants, along with a large pile of dark cloth and several other items. Turning her back on Morkazz, the Mistress slipped out of the white robe and allowed the two servants to quickly dress her in the black one. Morkazz had a brief glimpse of pale skin, and then it was gone, hidden behind the dark material of her robe.

After fastening the robe, Harj handed the Mistress a thin circuit of green metal, set with several large emeralds. The Mistress quickly slipped it around her head, allowing it to rest just above her ears. Then she turned back to her counsellor, and Morkazz felt a sudden flash of understanding. He knew now what was different about the Mistress from the aliens. She lacked colour.

The aliens were a very strange race, their skin seeming to alter colour with the changing conditions. When they were afraid it was pale or white, but when they were working hard it changed to a reddish colour. The Mistress' skin never changed colour, remaining the same pale white no matter what she was doing. Of course Morkazz had not seen her like this much, but somehow he knew that no matter what activity she was involved in, her appearance would not change.

"How is your leg, Morkazz," she suddenly asked, looking faintly amused at the way he had been staring at her. 

He quickly diverted his eyes downwards towards the ground. "It is fine, Mistress," he replied. "There is no need to trouble yourself over me."

"Rest your leg on the bed," she ordered him. Not wanting to make her angry, Morkazz quickly complied, although he could see nothing that she could do that would be any good. The finest healers had tried to repair his injured leg, but with only minor success.

She walked slowly across the room and picked up a small knife that sat on the top of a wooden chest. Morkazz looked at the knife with a faint feeling of fear as she walked back to his side. She did not use the knife on him though, instead slicing open her own thumb. Morkazz winced as the razor sharp knife cut through the pale flesh, feeling the injury she had dealt herself as if it were cutting into his own flesh. She held her thumb over his leg and he watched as two drops of glowing blood dropped from the wound onto his flesh.

A tingling sensation flowed through his leg, and as he watched the two drops of blood seemed to disappear, as if they were absorbed by his skin. The tingling soon stopped, and then he realised that the pain in his leg was gone, completely vanished. "What have you done?" he asked in amazement.

"It will not last," she replied. "But for the next couple of days you should be able to walk without pain. I think that is a fitting reward for your assistance."

"Thank you, Mistress," he said, tears of joy coming unbidden to his eyes. Almost all of his adult life he had been forced to walk with a limp, but now, if only for two days, he would be able to walk without pain. Any doubts that he had about the Mistress' intentions towards his people were gone at that moment.

The Mistress smiled at Morkazz's glee. She glanced down at her thumb, pleased to see that the wound was already gone. She still felt weakened by what she had just done, but it was not as bad as she had first though. Replacing the knife on the chest she took Morkazz by the arm and led him towards the stairs. "Come," she said. "We have work to do."

"Yes, Mistress," her counsellor replied eagerly. He felt more energetic that he had even done before, and his body had never felt this alive. It was as if this Mistress' blood had revitalised him, making him strong and youthful again. Shaking his head in amazement, he allowed himself to be led away.

She hadn't noticed his surprise, or the spring in his step. Instead she just continued talking. "The first thing I need you to do is make some alterations to my throne. What happened yesterday must never occur again. Then we must get in contact with Azrak. He should have captured that machine by now." 

Morkazz nodded in agreement. He too wanted to know how the general's mission was proceeding. It was close to the time when he should have reported it, and if he didn't call soon it would suggest that perhaps his mission was not proceeding as planned. While he had full confidence in the warrior, and in the armour that the Mistress and Kaj had designed, Morkazz was still a little nervous. He didn't know how much of the Mistress' plan revolved around capturing one of these alien machines, but it seemed important to her, and if it was important to her, then it was also important to him.

 

* * *

 

The rain pelted down on the surface of Arias for all of twenty minutes, and then, as quickly as it had begun, it stopped. Behind, it left a thick mist that rose out of the swampy landscape and cloaked everything in a dark fog. Oblivious to the fate of Logan's team, Susan's rover ploughed on through the mists, its powerful spotlights illuminating enough of the path for them continue toward their destination.

Inside the command cabin, Susan shivered. She had been watching the mist for several minutes now, and it was starting to get to her. At first it was just another obstacle to confront, but now it took on another form altogether. The mist seemed to clutch at the rover as it passed, as if trying to drag them down into the muddy ground. Susan knew it was only her imagination playing tricks on her again, but she couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine as she watched the eerie landscape passing outside.

Then a voice called out to her and she dragged her attention back to the warm cabin. Corporal Howell, the marine in charge of the rover's sensors, was looking up at her. "What did you say, Corporal," she asked.

"I said that we are picking up a signal, Captain," Howell said, pointing to something on his console. 

Susan felt a surge of anticipation and leaned forward to see what he was pointing out. On one of the monitors, a distorted image crackled and wavered. "Is that all?" she asked. "Can't you clear it up a little."

Howell shook his head. "Sorry, Captain. That is the best I can do. There is too much distortion and interference to get a clean signal. All I am getting is a very dodgy video image, no audio so far."

"Who from?" she asked, trying to make some sense of the distorted image. "Is it from the Sturt?"

"No, I think it is the second rover," the corporal replied. "But the interference is playing hell with these systems. All I am picking up is the odd image, and nothing more."

As he spoke the picture suddenly cleared, and Susan caught a brief glimpse of Major Logan. Then the screen went black. "Lost it," Howell explained. "Either someone switched off the transmitter, or they passed behind a hill."

"Can you get them back?" Susan asked.

Howell shook his head. "I'm not even picking them up on the sensors any more. If I knew where they were I could use a narrow band transmission, but I don't, so there is nothing I can do."

Susan frowned. "I hope nothing is wrong."

"Perhaps we should turn back and look for them," Talia suggested, a faintly worried look on her face. "Something might have happened to them."

"I thought you didn't like Logan," Susan teased. Then to Howell she said, "keep trying to raise them. Scan for any signal. If you get anything let me know."

"It was Logan that didn't like me," Talia replied in an slightly offended tone. "I have been trying to be nice to her though. After all, we do have to work together."

Susan nodded, but her attention was no longer on Talia, instead she was focused on the front window. outside, a swamp had suddenly appeared, seeming to surround them. "Be careful," she ordered Hvasanov, who was still driving the rover. "We don't want to end up stuck in this swamp."

The marine nodded, and slowed the rover, edging his way past the dark waters. "It looks like we might to have to turn around," Talia commented. "I don't think the rover is made for swamps."

Glancing out of a side window, Susan nodded in agreement. The swamp was all around them now and, despite all of its other abilities, the rover was not made for swamps. She was about to order Hvasanov to reverse his course when Dr. Melis, who had been quietly occupied with his chunk of stone, suddenly shouted out, "Wait." With a trembling hand he pointed out the front window. "What is that."

Susan peered out of the window in the direction he indicated. At first she didn't see anything, the mists reducing visibility to almost nothing, but then it appeared. The wind had changed, and the mists began to recede. Then, like some prehistoric monster, a gigantic shape began to slowly reveal itself. As she watched the shape changed from an indistinct blob into something much more familiar. The curved tentacle-like prongs at the front of the shape, and the petal-like wings at the back left no doubt as to the shape's origin.

"It's a Vorlon ship," Melis said, confirming what they could all now see. 

Everyone stared out of the rover's windows in amazement, looking at the huge shape of a Vorlon transport. It rested in the swamp, looking as though it had just been parked there while its owner went out for a walk. The hull seemed intact, and it was impossible to determine how long it had been there. It could have landed last week, or it might have been here for centuries. It looked almost as if it was waiting for someone, or something.

"We have to take a closer look," Melis said softly, breaking the silence that had hung over the command cabin. Still examining the Vorlon vessel for any signs of life, Susan just nodded in agreement.

 

* * *

 

Lily's face remained as impassive as ever, but inside she was smiling, very satisfied with her work. On the console in front of her, the red line showing the amount of fuel left in the main tank was slowly creeping towards empty. Beside it, a green line displayed the reserve tank level as almost two thirds full. In the rough terrains the rover was designed for, the possibility of a hole in the fuel tank could spell disaster, so a means of transferring fuel to a second tank was of vital importance. The reserve tank was there specifically to replace the main one if it was damaged, so it hadn't taken much effort for Lily to pump the fuel between the two.   However, now came a more difficult task, convincing the aliens that it is a mechanical fault when the fuel in the main tank finally ran out.

The three aliens crammed into the command cabin had been keeping a close eye on her and the other two marines. She wasn't sure how many more of the creatures there were on the rover, but she was certain that she wouldn't be able to take on all three on her own. The other two marines, privates Hawke and Anderson, were of little use. Once she had been chosen to drive the rover, the alien commander, the one they called Azrak, had ordered them manacled.

The manacles appeared to be made of the same metal as everything else the alien's possessed. She didn't know exactly what it was, but neither of her men had been able to break through their restraints. In a mirror conveniently mounted on the dash, she had seen both of them trying to open the manacles, but despite their training neither had been successful. The manacles didn't appear to have a lock, and somehow the metal fused together after they were clamped shut around the marine's wrists.

Lily herself didn't have any restraints at all, but she was being closely watched by the aliens. The leader, Azrak, had left the command cabin shortly after ordering her to turn down a side path, away from the path that lead towards the crashed IPX survey vessel. But, despite his absence she hadn't seen any chance for escape. One of the three remaining aliens had been constantly badgering her with questions about every tiny detail of the rovers operation. Most of what she had told him had been blatantly false, but the alien seemed to nod as if he understood every word.

The other two aliens were less talkative, but made up for that in watchfulness. Already they had spotted Hawke trying to free himself, and threatened him with injury if he tried to do it again. Lily wasn't sure if they would carry out their threats, but the sight of the two huge aliens, with their long, sharp claws, and equally dangerous swords, had put a stop to any future escape attempts. At least they had for the moment. Lily was still hoping that her plan with the fuel tanks would work. The alien's obviously wanted to capture the rover, and if it broke down, the distraction that caused might enable her to find a chance of escape.

Somewhere in the back of the rover were several mobile transmitters. If she took one of them, and set off across the jungle in the general direction of the Sturt's supposed location, then perhaps she would get lucky. Of course, she would prefer to make it out of here with the rover, and all of its crew, but if that wasn't possible then she intended to raise the alarm. Then, with some starfuries, the rest of the Rasputin's one hundred and twenty marines, and the four experimental battle tanks locked away in storage on the warship, she intended to come back and kick some alien butt.

At least that was the plan. There were still so many variables that Lily didn't want to plan that far ahead just yet. Right now her main concern was organising some sort of escape attempt. After that was successful she could start planning a rescue, assuming that she didn't manage to free everyone in the first attempt. She glanced down at the console again, while at the same time trying not to attract the attention of the alien who was crouching behind her. The gauge showed only two minutes of fuel remaining in the main tank. They weren't going to get far with only that amount of fuel left, so she flicked the switch above the indicator, turning off the pump that had been working away nicely for the past fifteen minutes.

Fortunately the alien who had been watching her didn't notice. He was still playing with the hand held holographic game she had given him to keep him out of her hair. She had found it stashed under her chair, and passed it off as a driving simulator. The alien didn't seem to mind that it was actually some sort of golfing simulation, and had been playing with it for the past two minutes. His clawed hands couldn't grip the controls properly, but that didn't stop him trying as hard as he could, as if mastering the game meant that he would be able to drive the rover.

Lily chuckled quietly to herself and turned back to watching the road in front them. The path was fairly straight though, so all she really had to do was keep the steering column steady and the rover pretty much drove itself. All she had to do was wait until the fuel ran out, and the crisis would begin. Breathing deeply, she began to prepare herself for possible battle. Lily had served in Earthforce for nearly fifteen years, an in that time she had picked up a lot of habits. Most members of the marine corps were like her, having their own little routines and traditions that they had to go through before they were ready to fight. Lily knew one old sergeant who had prepared for battle by spitting three times in the direction of the enemy and muttering an old war poem. Her own routine was less unusual, just a simple pattern of breathing, steeling her nerves and hardening her will.

Then, looming out of the darkness ahead, something appeared that broke her concentration. It looked like a gigantic spire, although it appeared to be only half finished. Scaffolding and cranes could be seen clustered around the tower, signs that this was definitely a building of some sort. It it confirmed all of Lily's worst fears. She had been hoping that the aliens were not advanced enough to be erecting complex structures. They were obviously intelligent, the fact that they could learn so quickly, and also that they spoke English, which she assumed they must have learnt from members of the Sturt's crew, proved their intellect.

Actually, she didn't really believe that could have learnt to speak English from the Sturt's crew, the IPX ship hadn’t been missing long enough to teach an entire race their language. But, she had to find some reason for the alien's being able to speak perfect English, and that seemed the most logical. She hadn't seen any sign of a translation device, and even if they had been using one, no translator she'd ever seen, alien or human, had produced distortion free speach in real time. The alien's voices were deeper than the average human's, but despite this it was still possible to understand perfectly every word they were saying, without a translator's tell-tale distortions.

Before she had time to think further on the matter, one of her guards was pointed out the window towards the half complete tower in the distance. "Go there," he said, pointing again to emphasise his message.

Lily nodded, and turned the steering column in the direction the alien had indicated. At the same time, her eyes flicked down to look at the fuel indicator again. There was now less than a minute of fuel left. Looking back out the window, she began to work on her breathing again, ready for whatever might happen when the fuel ran out.

Then, a shudder ran through the rover, and ever so slowly it began to decrease its speed, creeping to a halt as its fusion reactor ran out of fuel. Even if the alien's did find out what she had done, Lily knew that it would be hours before they managed to restart the reactor. The reactor was never meant to be shut down, and when it had been, a cold restart took a hell of a long time and was devilishly complicated.

"What has happened," the largest of the aliens in the command cabin asked. "Why are we not moving. Make us go again. The Mistress is waiting for us."

"I don't know what's wrong," Lily said, flicking switches and pushing buttons as fast as she could, trying to give the impression that she was doing all she could to restart the rover. While one hand was busy with the controls, she sent a quick signal to the two marines with the other, letting them in on her intentions. The EAS marines had an entire language of hand signals, so it was not difficult to pass on a message without the alien's noticing, especially when they were more interested in what was wrong with the rover.

"Fix it," the alien demanded, edging closer.

"I am not sure I can," Lily said. "Everything has just gone dead."

"What is happening," a new voice asked. "Why have we stopped.

Lily glanced over her shoulder to see the alien leader squeezing down the passage way from the cargo section. The other alien's bowed, and briefly held their clench fists over their chests, in what Lily assumed was a salute. "I do not know," the second in command replied. "The warrior alien said that it is dead."

"This is a machine, no a creature," Azrak replied. Then he looked at Lily. "You will repair it. The Mistress expects me to bring this machine, and will be angry if I do not."

"Then she is going to be disappointed," Lily replied, trying to keep a faint note of fear from creeping into her voice. "I can't fix it. I am not an engineer, I don't repair these things, I only drive them."

"What is an engineer?" Azrak asked, looking at her with a curious expression on his face.

"Engineer's design things," Lily replied. "Like these rovers, but also starships and a lot of other things."

Azrak nodded. "Ah... like artisan's then. I understand. Are there any of these engineers in this machine."

Lily shook her head. "No, not one. We didn't bring any with us."

Azrak frowned and then looked thoughtful. After nearly a minute of this, he looked at his soldiers and said, "take them all outside. I will contact the Mistress and ask her what we must do. She will know."

The other alien's nodded, and quickly began to herd Lily and the rest of the rover’s passengers outside, although not before they took the time to slip a set of manacle's around Lily's wrists, dashing any hopes she had of a quick escape. She soon found herself standing outside on the damp earth, a gaggle of frightened IPX scientist gathered around her, looking to her for hope and direction. Lily wasn't sure she had much to offer though.

The alien leader followed them outside and moving away from the rover, he pulled something from his belt. Lily watched as he casually opened his 'hand', dropping the device. It didn't fall; but floated in the air before him! Lily raised her eyebrows at that, realising that she was witnessing something defying gravity. Now she was beginning to get seriously worried about the technological level of these aliens. Earth was only just beginning to learn the secret of artificial gravity, and it certainly hadn't learned how to create anti-gravity, which allowed objects to float inside a gravitation field.

She pushed aside her amazement though, and concentrated on trying to hear what was being said. But the voices were too faint, and she couldn't understand anything. The conversation didn't last long, and Azrak soon returned. He had a relieved look on his face, at least that is what Lily assumed his expression meant. Some of the alien's expressions she could pick up at once, but others were more difficult to read.

"We continue on without the machine," he told his warriors. "The Mistress only wants the aliens, and their possessions, not the machine." He turned to his second in command. "Go to the construction site and return with the workers. We will need them to carry all of the alien's possessions to the fortress."

The other alien nodded, and hurried off in the direction of the tower. Azrak turned to the rest of the gather warriors. "Ten of you will remain here to help Huzin. The rest will come with me and escort the prisoners back to the fortress. See that none escape, the Mistress wants them all."

The warriors nodded and quickly hurried to follow his orders, most moving to guard the humans, while the rest began to dismantle parts of the rover. Lily realised that when the alien leader had meant possessions, he had included everything that was mounted on the rover, including all the external sensors and probably even the doors. The alien obviously could not tell what was part of the rover and what was just cargo.

Then Azrak approached the collection of frightened scientists and the three, still defiant marines. "You will all come with me," the tall alien warrior said. "The Mistress awaits you, as do the others of your kind. Do not try to escape and you will no be harmed."

"And if we do try to escape?" Lily asked.

"Then you will be hurt," Azrak replied, his voice leaving no doubt in her mind that he would personal take care of her punishment. "The Mistress has ordered that none be killed, but she also want all of you to come with us. She will not be angry if you obey her. If you do not, then she will be very angry."

"Do you always do everything the Mistress tells you?" Lily said, wondering if perhaps she couldn't stir up some trouble among the alien's ranks. There was always the possibility that this Mistress was some sort of tyrant, lording over the lesser aliens. Of course it was equally likely that she was the female equivalent of the aliens, and they formed some sort of hive-like arrangement.

Azrak did not seem interested in her barb, instead he just replied, "Of course. That is the way of things. She orders and the Chosen obey her. There is no other way." 

The warrior then moved away from Lily, and the rest of his soldiers began to herd their human captives down the muddy path that led up towards the construction site. The two marines looked at her, as if asking if they should resist. She shook her head, and allowed herself to be led away from the rover. It was now obvious to her that these aliens were a lot more than they originally appeared. They might not have powerful energy weapons, but they were still very advanced. It didn't look likely that she was going to be escaping any time soon.

As they slowly walked away, Lily glanced behind her, watching forlornly as the aliens began to tear the rover apart, stripping it of anything that might be of value. Antennae, sensors, everything except the massive wheels, was quickly torn from the outer hull, and boxes of supplies were soon being carried out from inside. Even her favourite PPG rifle was pulled out of the cargo locker where she had stowed it and thrown onto the growing pile outside the rover.

 

* * *

 

Susan, along with the other three members of her small team, slowly made her way through the shallow swamp, her clothing now thoroughly soaked by the cold water, and her boots heavy with caked mud. "I am beginning to think that this might not have been such a good idea," she said, swatting at a buzzing insect that had been hovering around her for the past minute. The insect retreated for a few seconds, but then promptly returned... with two of its older, and much larger brothers.

"We have to check this out," Melis replied, the insect inhabitants of the swamp steering clear of him for some reason. "The chance to examine an intact Vorlon vessel is too good an opportunity to pass up. It will be the find of a lifetime."

"Right now I am more worried about what has happened to Major Logan and her rover," Susan replied, wondering again why she allowed Melis to talk her into this, not that it had taken too much convincing. Part of her had to admit that the idea of recovering an intact Vorlon transport was quite exciting, but another part was worried that this might be some sort of trap. Everything she knew about Vorlons suggested that they would not just leave examples of their technology lying around.

She glanced back along their path, and could see the faint lights of the rover in the distance. The mist that had appeared after the rain stopped had grown thicker again, and now it was almost impossible to see more than a few metres in any direction. Fortunately the rover's spotlights were very powerful and they cut through the mist like a knife, shining in the direction of their goal. That didn't stop Susan from feeling almost alone in the shallow swamp, her only companions the cold water and the insects gathering over her head.

Actually she wasn't that alone, the tall figure of an EAS marine was just in front of her, carefully scanning the swamp with infra-red goggles. While behind her was Melis, and even further back another marine took up the rear, her PPG rifle clutched tightly in her hands. So far nothing dangerous had appeared, but Susan didn't want to take any chances. That was why she was grateful that Talia hadn't insisted on coming along. Fortunately, this time Talia had readily agreed to remain behind, saying that she preferred the warmth of the rover to a cold trek through a muddy swamp. Susan was beginning to wonder if she should have remained in the rover as well.

Then, the marine in front of her suddenly stopped, without even a word or gesture of warning. Susan only just managed to pull up in time to prevent herself from running headlong into his back. Walking around the imposing obstacle of the marine's body she looked up at him in annoyance. "What is it?"

The marine didn't reply, but instead held up a hand to point in the direction they had been travelling. Susan follow his gesture, and then she saw what the marine had spotted. Out of the mists the Vorlon ship had appeared again. When she had been back in the rover, Susan hadn't really realised how big this thing was. Up close it seemed to loom above them like some dark cliff face, only it wasn't a wall of rock she faced, but a wall of blackish-grey metal.

"Amazing," Melis breathed. "Do you see that, it's still in one piece." He paused to get an image of the ship on his recorder, and then muttered. "I must get closer."

A slithering sound echoed across the swamp, and Susan glanced nervously in the direction it came from. When nothing appeared, she turned back to the ship and followed Melis and the two marine towards it. The Vorlon vessel appeared to rest on an island in the swamp, and again Susan was struck with the impression that it was waiting for its owner to return.

"Come on," Melis said, wading through the deepening waters of the swamp towards the muddy island.

"Wait," Susan tried to say. But it was too late, the doctor had already gone, the thickening mists swirling around and hiding his passage. Scowling in annoyance at the doctor's impertinent nature, she nodded to the marines, and ordered them forward towards the Vorlon vessel. The tall marine in front of her unslung his PPG rifle and sloshed forward, creating small waves as he pushed his way into deeper water. Another slithering sound reached their ears. Susan and the last remaining marine exchanged nervous glances and hurried after Melis.

Fortunately the deep water did not last long, and Susan soon found herself climbing out of the chilly water and onto the muddy sand of the island. The spotlights from the rover were barely visible now, so the team were forced to rely on small portable torches, which didn't give out much light, but were adequate enough. Overhead the sun must have set again, and the dim twilight of day had faded into the total darkness of night.

Susan's attention was elsewhere at the moment though, and the growing chill in the air did not interest her as much as the sight that loomed above them. Up close the Vorlon ship lost a lot of its beauty, but none of its mystery. Unlike the other Vorlon vessel's Susan had seen, this one was a blackish-grey in colour, looking faded and dull compared to the bright colours of Ambassador Kosh's transport. 

It also appeared to have been here for some time. Susan didn't know how long plants took to grow on this world, but if it was the same as on Earth, then the Vorlon ship had been sitting her for at least a century, maybe much longer. A thick growth of vines had wrapped themselves around the vessel, as if they were trying to restrain it, while across the rest of the ship's surface a grey fungus had taken root. Clearly the first impressions she had of vessel during the journey here were wrong; this ship wasn't going anywhere.

A sudden realisation came to Susan, and she knew without any trace of doubt that this ship was dead. She knew that the Vorlon's used organic technology, and had even seen it proven to her by the sensors on Babylon 5, but never before had she thought of a ship dying. But there was no doubt that this is what had happened to this one. Somehow it had been killed, but by what or who she didn't know.

Beside her the two marines regarded the ship with detached curiosity, while Melis swarmed over it like an eager puppy, poking his nose into every nook and cranny. From somewhere he had pulled a small laser scalpel and was using its delicate beam to slice away the plant life that covered the section ship's surface closest to him. At the same time he was trying to balance a recorder in his other hand, making sure he kept a record of his work.

Experiencing a strange urge deep inside her, Susan found herself drawn to the ship. Like the pillar they had encountered earlier, there was something her that wanted her to come closer. Despite fighting the urge with all her will, Susan felt her hand reaching up to touch the fungus covered surface of the ship. Beside her the tall marine suddenly gasped. "Look," he said pointing to the surface of the hull where Susan's hand had touched. Tiny specks of light had suddenly appeared.

Even Melis turned and watched as light flared up around Susan's hand. Bright like the sun, it lit up the swamp like the spotlights had done earlier. All trace of the cold mist began to vanish, while deeper in the swamp two gigantic snakes that had been hunting the four humans quickly turned and swam away, seeking to escape the light. The light grew brighter again, and the moss and fungus beneath Susan's hand began to smoke, before bursting into flame. Susan though, was unharmed, the warmth of the flames not even reaching her skin. She closed her eyes and listened to the voice that suddenly began to speak in her head. "Learn," it said, carrying with it a feeling of authority and order that could only be Vorlon in nature.

Inside her mind, Susan felt a tingling sensation and then the darkness of the inside of her eyelids flared with brilliant light. When the effects of that light vanished, she found herself floating in space, the greenish sphere of Arias far below. Then she became aware that she was moving closer to the jungle moon. Curious she examined the moon and saw that it was much as it appeared now, mostly jungle, but about a third covered by a great storm cloud. She felt a sense of foreboding and again the voice sounded in her head. "The prison," it said.

"A prison?" she queried.

The voice of the Vorlon didn't answer her question, instead it continued with its tale. "The prisoner is trying to escape. From the council I came, seeking to ensure that the wards were secure. They are not..."

From the very centre of the dark cloud, far below her, a pencil-thin beam of energy suddenly lanced outwards, striking Susan directly in the centre of her chest. Curiously she felt no pain, but instead she felt a feeling of weakness, as if her life force was slowly being drained away. Then she began to spiral downwards, falling towards the surface of the world below. In her mind she heard the voice of the Vorlon again. "It must never escape, you must ensure this."

"What?" Susan screamed, but her words seemed to be swept away by the speed of her fall.

Weaker now the voice of the Vorlon responded. "I have waited here until they sent another. You must take up my place as guardian. Ensure that it never escapes. The empire depends on your success. If you are not successful, then we will fall and our cause will be lost with us."

Darkness seemed to envelop her, and then Susan found herself back in the swamp. Opening her eyes she saw the flames and jerked her hand away from the ship as if she had been stung. On the surface of the ship, the flames suddenly faded, but the light remained. "What the hell is that," Melis was saying, pointing his recorder at the side of the ship, where a circle of light had appeared, and in its centre Susan could see the imprint of her hand. She glanced down at her hand. It didn't appeared to have suffered from what had just happened, but a curious tingling sensation remained, tiny pinpricks of pain running across her palm.

"Are you all right, Captain," the female marine asked, looking at Susan with a worried expression on her face.

Susan nodded, then asked, "what did you see."

"You reached out to touch the ship, and then that light appeared. Then, the part of the ship you were touching burst into flames and you pulled your hand away." The marine looked down at Susan's right hand, which she still cradled in her other hand. "Do you want me to take a look at that, Captain," she asked. "I have a medkit with me. There should be something for burns in it."

Susan shook her head. "No it is fine," she replied, in a strangely detached voice. "I didn't get burnt. There was no heat in the flames."

"What did you see, Captain," the other marine asked suddenly, a suspicious edge to his voice.

"This world," she replied, glancing down at her hand again. "And there was something else... a voice. I think it was a Vorlon."

"Amazing," Melis said again, moving closer to the glowing circle, his recorder clutched in his hands. Before anyone could stop him, he reached out to touch the ring of light. Unlike Susan's touch, he produced a more violent response. The light flared again, so brightly it left those watching it temporarily blinded. Only Susan, who had been looking down at her hand at the time, escaped from the fate of the other three. As the flare of light died down, she looked up. The circle of light on the ship's surface was gone.

Then she saw that it was still light around the ship, even though the team's torches were lying forgotten in the mud. She looked up, straight into the eyes of a figure that hovered above the ship. The angelic being hovering there seemed to nod once in her direction before gently lifting itself into the air, drifting higher and higher. As it rose into the air, its radiance dimmed, and soon it was only a faint speck of light. Then, it was gone all together, leaving behind only a feeling of loss and death. With it went the light that had filled the swamp.

The cold chill began to creep around them again, and with it the mist began to return. Susan reached down and picked up one of the discarded torches, while the other three members of the team blinked and rubbed their eyes to clear away the last after effects of the light. Melis let out a short cry of disappointment when he saw that the light was gone. "It's gone," he said, scrabbling at the surface of the ship with his fingernails, as if that would bring back the light.

"And it's time we were also gone," Susan said. She bent down and picked up the doctor's recorder and torch. Shoving them into his hands she said, "we can't stay here any longer."

"But..." Melis began. "We just got here. We have to examine it, take samples and recordings."

"We don't have time," Susan replied. "We have to find the Sturt, and rescue her crew. Then, we are going to get the hell off this world. If you want to come back here and look for Vorlon artefacts then you can, but you will do it on your own time. There is something strange happening on this world, and I don't really want to stick around and find out what it is."

"Sounds like the best idea I have heard so far," the tall marine said, spitting into the swamp. "There is some weird shit going on around here, and I don't want to be walking through these swamps any longer than I have to. This swill is starting to rot my uniform."

"I agree," the female marine said, picking up her torch and attaching it to her rifle. "Lets get back to the rover."

Outnumbered, Melis shut up, and followed the others as they walked away from the Vorlon ship and back towards the distant lights of the rover. As they disappeared into the mists there came a faint noise from the Vorlon ship, almost as if something had just sighed. Then, it began to crumble, the rotten metal of its structure finally giving way and crumbling into dust. The lingering presence of the dead Vorlon had been all that had kept the ship together, and with it now finally passing away into whatever the Vorlon imagined as their afterlife, there was nothing left to hold the dead ship together. However, so quietly did it collapse, not one of Susan's team heard a thing. They just continued through the mists and water, until finally the shape of the rover appeared in front of them, its bright spotlights lighting the way to the warm security it offered.

Standing on the muddy shore were two human shaped figures. As the team made there way towards them, the figure soon resolved themselves into the figure of Talia and the much larger one of Sergeant Drake. "You made it back," Talia said, sounding relieved. She reached down and helped Susan climb back up onto dry land, although in this case the land wasn't exactly that dry. "We were a little worried when that light suddenly appeared. What was that?"

"A memory," Susan replied, trying to wring some of the water out of her soaked uniform. She wasn't having much success though, and soon gave up.

Before Talia, or anyone else, could ask her what she meant by that remark, Sergeant Drake stepped in. "Captain," he said in his deep, gruff voice. "We are picking up a signal."

"From Major Logan?" she asked eagerly.

The sergeant shook his head. "No, we still haven't managed to raise the other rover. This signal is from the Sturt, a Captain Lawton to be precise."

"Then they are still alive," Susan said, relief showing on her face. "How far away are they?"

"About two kilometre's," Drake replied. He pointed over the swamp, back in the direction the Vorlon ship had been. "They're on the other side of this swamp though, so it is going to take us about thirty minutes to make our way around it. That's assuming that we can make our way around it at all."

Susan nodded. "Then we had better get going. Everyone back in the rover." She looked over at Melis. "And no more distractions. We have a job to do, and it is about time we started doing it."

"What about Major Logan," Drake asked.

"Hopefully she will be waiting for us at the Sturt. If she isn't, then we will worry about sending out a search party. Now let's get moving."

There was a general movement towards the rover, with only Melis dragging his heels, still looking wistfully in the direction of the Vorlon ship. Then, with an almost forlorn resignation, he also climbed aboard and the rover started up again, backing its way towards solid ground. Behind them the mist began to clear once more, and the island appeared again. This time though, there was no sign of any Vorlon ship, just a pile of tangled vegetation and blackish-grey dust.

 

* * *

 


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER FIVE

 

* * *

 

"This is starting to really annoy me," Susan said, sounding frustrated as yet another path turned out to be a dead end. "This is the fifth time this has happened." She looked over to her left. "Are you sure this is where it is suppose to be?"

Beside her, Dr. Melis tapped the portable navigation console he had perched on his lap. "According to this machine, the Sturt should be about a hundred metres directly in front of us. If we hadn't lost contact with Captain Lawton, then I might be able to tell you for sure, but without their signal, I can't make an accurate reading. However, based on their last signal, that is where they should be."

Susan peered out of the window, trying to see something through the darkness. "The spotlights don't reach that far," she reminded the doctor. "We can't see if there is anything out there or not." She slumped back into her seat and looked over at the driver. "All right, Sergeant, turn us around... again."

Before Sergeant Drake could carry out her command though, another voice pulled him up. "Wait," Talia said, a look of concentration on her face. "I can sense something." She shook her head as if trying to clear it, and seemed to shudder slightly. "There are human minds out there. They are distant but coming closer."

Susan glanced around the command cabin and after checking to make sure everyone else's attention was elsewhere, reached out with her own mind. Although she lacked training, her telepathic abilities were now a lot stronger than Talia's and she had no trouble sensing the thoughts of those Talia had already detected. She looked back at Talia and nodded, indicating that she too had sensed the same thing.

"Look," Drake suddenly called out, pointing at something that had appeared off in the distance.

Susan followed his outstretched finger until, at the distance where image was swallowed by imagination, a dim light was just emerging through the gloom. At first all they could see was just the light, but then, as the seconds ticked by, more and more details emerged. Soon the shape of a makeshift raft, manned by two men, slowly moved towards them. The men on the raft had obviously seen the rover, and were alternating between rowing and waving, as if trying to get the attention of the rover's crew.

"It appear you were right after all, doctor," Susan admitted, rising from her seat to get a better look at the raft.

"Of course," Melis replied, looking a little smug. But even the arrogant IPX team leader couldn't help but smile as he realised that they had found the Sturt's crew after all, and at least some of them were still alive.

Seeing that they had been spotted, the two men of the raft began waving their arms and shouting even more aggressively. Susan smiled faintly, before ordering several marines to go and help the survivors to the shore. There was still a lot of work to do, and the rescue wasn't over yet, but she still felt relief at finding someone alive. Now all they had to do was keep them alive. That, and transfer them all to the Rasputin before anything else happened.

 

* * *

 

Major Logan let out a tired groan as the aliens guarding her party called another halt to the march. She slumped down onto the muddy ground, no longer concerned with the condition of her uniform, just grateful for the brief respite from the forced march. The alien's, with their wide, clawed feet and thick tails, had experienced no trouble at all walking along the muddy trail. Their human prisoners though, had been forced to trudge through thick mud and along steeply sloping roads, following the path that led towards the alien's fortress.

Lily wasn't sure how many hours had passed since the rover had run out of fuel, but she was sure it was at least five. Above them the sky had begun to lighten somewhat, changing from pitch black to a dull twilight. It didn't help much though, and the only light of any magnitude came from the glowing cable they had been following throughout the night.

She had tried to take a closer look at the cable, hoping that it might provide some clues about the aliens, or maybe their destination. Each time she had moved closer though, one of the aliens had spotted her and made sure she didn't touch the cable. She could still feel a twinge of pain from the time one of the alien guards had grown a little enthusiastic in discouraging her and pushed her to the ground. Unfortunately, it happened to be one piece of ground that wasn't covered in mud. Instead, it had been studded with a scattering of rocks and Lily had landed heavily among them, knocking some of the skin off her right elbow and landing heavily on her shoulder.

The experience, no matter how painful, had still been very useful. Through it, she had discovered that the aliens were under orders not to harm their captives. When the guard pushed her to the ground the alien leader had quickly hurried over and told him off. Listening to their conversation Lily had learned that the alien's mysterious Mistress had ordered that none of the prisoners be harmed. That at least gave her something to work with. If they were not allowed to hurt her, then perhaps she still had a chance of escape.

Accepting the unexpected offer of a drink from one of the alien guards, Lily gulped down the liquid, savouring the coolness of the water. Handing back the canteen she looked around at the group of prisoners with renewed vigour. It didn't last long. Looking at the rest of the prisoners, worn out and broken by the difficult march, stole some of her confidence away. Even the other two marines, who should have handled the situation better, were slumped on the ground, looking dispirited and tired.

Lily frowned as she observed them, wishing that she had some of the older marines in her command along with her. She was sure that someone like Sergeant Drake, an old campaigner who had fought in the war against the Minbari, wouldn't have given up so easily. All she could hope for now, was that Drake and Ivanova could discover what had happened to her, and send a rescue party. She certainly didn't want to be trapped on this world for the rest of her life.

Spotting the alien leader, Azrak, walking past, Lily yelled out. "Where are you taking us." The alien warrior turned and looked at her. She pointed towards the rest of her party. "We can't continue like this for much longer. You might be able to keep up this pace, but we can't."

Azrak walked over to her side, towering over her, almost as if he needed to feel superior to Lily before he could talk to her. "As long as you can walk, we will continue. It is not far now, just beyond this ridge." 

Then he turned and walked away, heading towards the largest group of guards, who were busy handing around a small container. Lily couldn't see exactly what was in the container, but it appeared to be some kind of food, although the way it seemed to wiggle in their fingers didn't encourage her to ask for a sample. The mere presence of food though, was enough to make her stomach rumble, reminding her that it was at least twenty hours since she had last eaten. While it would be at least another day before she began to feel really hungry, she hoped that their captors would feed them before then.

Whatever Azrak wanted, it seemed to involved them moving again. Soon after he finished talking to the guards, they returned and ordered everyone back to their feet. A chorus of groans and complaints sounded as the tired scientists hauled themselves back to their feet and resume the march. Lily felt similar pains, but wasn't about the let the aliens know that. She climbed back to her feet without a word of complaint and took up her place at the rear of the group.

They marched on for perhaps another hour and Lily continued to look for escape possibilities, but none presented themselves. Even if the guards had left an opening, she wasn't sure how far she would get on this alien world. There could be anything hiding out there, and without a communicator to signal the other rover, she knew she wasn't going to escape. The last time she had seen one of the communicators, it had been in a pile of other items being heaped up outside the rover. She didn't know what had happened to it, or the rover, last seen as they had been led away down this long, muddy road.

Since then, all she had seen were alien constructions, and certainly nothing that reminded her of home. Most prominent were the tall towers that seemed to dot the landscape. She had passed three of them so far, and up ahead she could see another four grouped together on the top of a large hill that had just appeared once they crossed the ridge. She didn't know what purpose they served, but they seemed to be important to the aliens.

Lost in her thoughts, Lily followed the person in front of her, not noticing that they had drawn closer to the hill. Then she noticed a change that made her jerk her head up and look around her again. Beneath their feet the ground had changed from a muddy dirt track into a stone path. That was not all that had changed either. Over them, a tall rocky hill now loomed, while directly ahead the dark mouth of a cave waited to swallow them.

Several groups of aliens were walking along the path, all casting curious glances towards Lily and the other humans. From the tools they were carrying, Lily assumed they must be work crews heading out to the first tower she had seen. That one was still being built, and several hundred aliens had been gathered around it, all busy with sheets of metal, and strange silver coils.

The guards didn't allow her time to examine these new groups of aliens. Instead, they pushed her towards the wide tunnel that headed deep into the hillside. Unlike the trail they had been following, this tunnel was dry and clean, a welcome relief from the muddy conditions they had been battling through ever since leaving the rover. Lily took a moment to glare at one of the guards, before following the other prisoners into the tunnel. As she passed into the wide entrance, another party of worker aliens marched out, carefully avoiding the humans and their guards.

Inside the tunnel Lily was struck by the realisation of how different it felt. Gone was the cold chill of the early morning air, and replacing it was a warm breeze that seemed to flow from beneath the rocky hill. While she wondered how that was possible, Lily also noticed a row of light globes embedded in the roof of the tunnel. The light they provided wasn't very bright, but it was just enough to see by. Still with thoughts of escape on her mind, she glanced around to see where the guards were. Unfortunately for her, they had formed into a line behind their prisoners, ensure that no-one attempted to return to the surface. Curiously, only two guards were at the front of the group, so obviously there was no chance of escape in that direction.

Frowning in annoyance at the alien leader's foresight, she moved towards the front of the group, seeking the other two marines. She found them trudging along with the other prisoners, their eyes downcast. Lily moved closer and whispered, "have either of you come up with a way out of here yet?"

Hawke, the soldier closest to her, looked up, surprise in his eyes. "You must be kidding, Major," he replied, while at the same time eyeing the nearest guard nervously. "If we try and make a dash for it, then they are going to cut us to pieces."

"And if we don't, then they will probably do the same thing," Lily whispered harshly back. "We have to look for a way out of this place. Someone has to warn the Captain about what is going on here. Then we can think about rescuing the other prisoners. At least one of us has to escape."

Before Hawke could reply, further conversion was halted by the sudden appearance of the alien leader, Azrak, who was walking towards the front of the group. He looked at Lily with a suspicious tint in his gaze, but said nothing. However he kept a close eye on the three marines for the rest of the short journey through the tunnel. Lily ignored his presence and examined the walls of the tunnel instead.

Unlike the muddy road they had followed from the rover, the tunnel was more natural looking. The walls did not appear to have been carved, and in several placed they had to walk around large rock formations. However, the tunnel had a strange feel to it, and the ground felt a lot warmer than it should have. Before Lily had time to examine that phenomena though, the tunnel ended and she found herself gasping in surprise at what lay beyond.

She had thought that the aliens were leading them into some underground dwelling of some kind, but instead the tunnel was a passage leading through the side of a vast impact crater. Below them lay the rest of the crater, hundreds of metres in diameter, and nearly the same in depth. It wasn't the crater itself that surprised Lily though, but rather the huge building that rose up out of the mists below them.

It wasn't its size that was so spectacular, Lily had seen taller buildings on Earth, but rather its very existence. She had come to the conclusion that the aliens were fairly advanced, but even she hadn't imagined that they could build something like this. It was like nothing that she had seen before, yet at the same time it also had a strange familiarity about it. The more Lily looked at the stronger that feeling of familiarity became.

Most of the fortress was obviously alien. It was constructed of a dark material that seemed to absorb the light, and only the tiny pinpricks of light across its surface gave any indication that it was there at all. However, as she looked further up, Lily noticed that its architecture changed. The entire top fifth of the fortress was a gigantic dome, ringed with windows and topped by a series of minarets around a tall central spire. While the structure itself didn't suggest anything familiar, Lily found her eyes drawn to the windows in the dome.  It was then that she realised what it was that felt so familiar to her.

Each of windows had been cleverly designed to resembled the stained glass windows of the old cathedrals and churches back on Earth. While the figures that they depicted were obviously alien, the design of the windows was identical to those she remembered. The restaurant owned by her father had been built in a converted church and some of her earliest childhood memories had been of the sunlight shining through the stained glass windows. While there was no sunlight here, just a dim light from inside the dome, the effect was almost identical.

Shaking her head in amazement, Lily didn't notice that the rest of the prisoners, along with most of the guards, had already moved on, walking down a wide set of stairs that wound down the side of the crater towards the base of the fortress. For a second her heart leapt, and she wondered if they had forgotten about her. A quick look behind her though, dashed those hopes. Standing there, quietly watching her, was Azrak and two of his largest warriors.

"That is the Mistress' palace," Azrak said to her, pointing towards the fortress. Then he pointed towards the windows. "The Mistress made each image to show the greatest of our race." Then his voice grew a little wistful. "Perhaps one day she will make one for me."

"Will I get to meet this Mistress of yours," Lily asked him.

Azrak looked at her with a curious expression on his face. "Perhaps," he replied. "Who can tell what the Mistress desires. Even I, the leader of my people can not tell what she will choose to do. She will call for you is she wishes to see you, otherwise you will be sent to the mines with the rest of your people."

Lily frowned. "The Mines?" she asked, not really liking the sound of that at all. "What mines?"

Azrak though, refused to elaborate and instead pointed towards the stairs. "Come, we must go down here."

Lily glared at him, but when the other two warriors moved closer she slowly complied with his command, walking down the stairs towards the bottom of the crater. At the same time though, she turned and looked back at the top of the fortress. Outlined in one of the windows, she noticed two small, dark shapes that hadn't been there before. Perhaps it was just the angle she was viewing them from, but Lily was convinced that someone or something was watching her from the palace. 

 

* * *

 

Standing at the very edge of the throne room, where the row great windows looked out over the tall cliffs that surrounded the palace, two creatures were observing the slow passage of the returning raiding party. Leaning wearily against the metal archway that surrounded the window, the Mistress peered through the patterned glass, watching closely as last of humans began to walk down the stairs. Standing nearby, her counsellor, Morkazz, tried his best to spot what she was pointing out to him. Of course, the fact that her eyes were greatly superior to his didn't help at all.

The Mistress though, was so caught up in her examination of the new prisoners that she hadn't noticed that her counsellor couldn't see anything through the murky darkness outside the window. The dim light of the pre-dawn sky and the mud splattered clothing of the prisoners conspiring to hide them from his vision. In fact, all he could see was a odd flutter of movement against the distance rock face, and that could have been anything. However, he knew that the Mistress would not mislead him, so trusted in her observations.

"Shall I order Azrak to bring the prisoners before you?" Morkazz asked as soon as the prisoners had reached the bottom of the stairs and entered the tunnel that led into the living areas below the surface. "Or, would you prefer that they be taken straight to the mines instead?"

Instead of answering directly, the Mistress turned from the window and slowly began to walk back towards her throne. Pausing briefly she looked back at Morkazz and said, "Come."

Morkazz nodded and turned away from the delicate crystal window, following her obediently back to the throne. Then, after she had lowered herself into the cushioned seat with a pained grimace, the Mistress activated one of the display screens. As it lowered itself down from the ceiling, Morkazz found himself looking at an image of one of the many passages and corridors that snaked their way beneath the surface of the ground. The prisoners could be seen marching down the passage, and then, as the screen focused on one of the prisoners, the Mistress froze the image.

Because the Mistress seemed to be interested in this particular alien, Morkazz took a moment to examine the image. It showed an alien, he recognised as a female, although he wasn't one hundred percent certain about that. She appeared to be only short, with cropped blonde hair and a brown uniform. It took Morkazz nearly a minute to see what had attracted the Mistress' attention, but eventually even he spotted it. This alien was still defiant. While the others walked with their heads down, and appeared afraid of their guards, this one didn't.

"Interesting," he mused softly.

"Yes she is, isn't she," the Mistress replied. "See how she is still looking around for a way to escape. It shows that she possesses a strong and defiant spirit. The others have already submitted, but she has not."

"What would you have us do?" Morkazz asked, unsure if the alien's defiant nature pleased or angered this Mistress. He glanced over at the figure on the throne, but couldn't pick up anything from her expression. So he just waited, knowing that she would tell him soon enough what her wishes were.

"Tell Azrak to take her to a cell," the Mistress ordered finally, after considering his question for nearly a minute. "The others can go to the mines, I have no further use for them at this time. Also provide this one with fresh clothing, and food if she requests it. Then tell Azrak to bring the items he captured from the alien machine to the throne room, I wish to examine them."

"Yes, Mistress," Morkazz replied with a bow. He quickly turned and hurried towards the great golden doors that marked the exit of the throne room.

Behind him the Mistress deactivated the screen and leaned back against the throne, a faint shudder of pain running through her. For a second she reached towards a newly constructed compartment that had been built in the side of the throne, but then changed her mind and pulled her hands back. Instead, she looked back towards the retreating form of her counsellor and called out, "make sure artisan Kaj is also present. I may have need of her insight as well."

Morkazz turned and bowed again, before slipping behind the doors. The Mistress smiled as she realised that the counsellor was still showing no signs of the limp that had troubled him for much of his life. Then her mind turned to other matters. Her plans were nearing fruition, and with some gentle prodding the human prisoners would play their part. But she couldn't risk having anyone defying her now, especially not one of the prisoners.

 

* * *

 

Captain Lawton sighed in contentment as he sipped the hot drink provided by the rover's crew. "I haven't had anything warm to eat or drink for nearly a week," he said, reluctantly putting aside the mug. "I sure am glad you turned up, we were beginning to think that we were all going to die here."

The other man from the raft, the Sturt's second officer, Terry Maloney, nodded in agreement, pulling the warm blanket tightly around his body, trying to restore some warmth. Water still dripped from his long black hair, a legacy of a quick dip in the swamp after their over exuberant celebrations on sighting the rover. He scratched his thick moustache before adding, "or be carried off by swamp monsters."

"Monsters?" Susan queried.

Lawton cut off Maloney's reply. "We don't know that they are monsters, but something has been taking my crew. Since we crashed over forty have vanished, including two of my senior officers. We have never seen what was responsible, but it is too many to just be accidents. Someone, or something has been killing off my crew."

Standing behind Susan, Talia looked shocked. "You don't think that is what happened to the other rover do you, Susan?" she asked, forgetting for the moment to use Susan's formal title when they were around the rest of the crew.

None of the marines, or the two wet survivors noticed though, they all just looked towards Susan. "The other rover?" Lawton asked. "You mean you have lost someone as well?"

Susan frowned. "We don't know that for sure yet. All we know is that the second rover vanished. We can't go blaming invisible monsters yet."

"Believe me, Captain," Maloney said in a dark tone. "These creatures exist. We might not have seen them, but I have heard the screams of those they captured. They were horrible, as if a great demon had just leapt out and grabbed them. I don't want to have anything to do with these creatures if I can help it. And if I were you I would get away from here as soon as possible."

"How many crew are left on your ship," Susan asked Lawton.

"One hundred and twenty six," the red-haired captain replied. "Assuming no more have gone missing over the past hour."

Susan drummed her fingers on her forearm, quickly running the figures through her head. "Four round trips then," she said. She turned to Drake, who was leaning back against a row of lockers. "Unpack the heavy weapons, and pull out some of those inflatable rafts. I want this rover ready to make the return trip before the hour is out."

"Are we going back with the rover, or staying here, Captain," he asked.

"Staying here. I want the marines to guard the Sturt, while the rover shuttles the crew back to the landing site. Choose three men, and put them in charge of the rover. You will be staying here with me." She turned to look at the two officers from the Sturt. "Mr. Maloney, you can go on the first return trip if you prefer. I would like someone to take charge of the operation."

The two officers glanced at each other, looking a little disturbed by her orders. "Is there something wrong, Captain Lawton," Susan asked him irritably. "I would have thought that you both would have wanted to get off this planet as quickly as possible."

Lawton nodded. "That's true, Captain, I do. However it seems a shame to leave the Sturt behind. After all, apart from a complete loss of power, there is nothing wrong with it." Seeing the confused look on the faces of his rescuers he sighed. "But of course, you don't know about that. Perhaps it would be best if I started at the beginning."

"Please do," Susan replied, an impatient look appearing on her face.

Lawton paused for a second, then started his explanation. "You see, the Sturt is still intact. In fact, if we could find some way to restore the lost power, then it would be possible to take off again. There is still plenty of fuel for the reactor, but not enough energy to start it up again. If we could somehow restore the reserves then it would be possible to restart the reactor and fly the ship off the surface."

"I am still not sure I understand," Susan said. "Why can't you replenish the energy reserves, and why exactly did you crash?"

"I wouldn't call it a crash exactly," Lawton replied, a wry smile on his face. "I prefer to call it a controlled descent." He sighed again when that comment failed to cause even the slightest smile on the faces of his rescuers. "What happened was that the reactor cut out in mid flight, and we were forced to fly the ship on reserve power. As the captain of a starship, I am sure you will know that is impossible to do. Fortunately I have... or rather I did have... a very good pilot, and he managed to land the Sturt in the swamp, without damaging any of her systems. As for why we can't replenish the energy reserves, that can only be done with solar collectors." he paused to wave his hand towards the hatch. "And, as I am sure you have seen, there isn't a lot of sunlight out there."

"What caused the reactor to cut out like that?" Susan asked.

Lawton glanced over at Maloney. The second officer took up the explanation, while Lawton returned to his drink. "We think it was due to the energy drain. As you would be aware, the fusion reactor requires a continuous input of energy to function. Normally part of the energy it generates is just recycled back into the reactor, but during take-offs and landings the ships systems require much more energy than reactor can generate. That is where the reserves come into play. They are normally supposed to hold enough energy to do the job ten times over, but this time there was a problem."

"This energy drain?" Dr. Melis asked, suddenly growing interested in the conversation. "What can you tell me about that."

Maloney looked over at his captain, who just shrugged. "Not much," Lawton admitted. "We didn't stick around long enough to see what was causing it. As soon as I detected it, I ordered a lift off, which in hindsight turned out to be the wrong decision. Had we remained where we were then we would have been able to recharge the reserves with the solar collectors. Instead we are stuck in this damn swamp."

"You weren't to know what would happen," Susan said.

"I know that, but it doesn't stop me blaming myself for what happened."

Susan nodded understandingly, realising that she would probably be feeling exactly the same thing if she were in Lawton's place. "It is too late to worry about what happened," she said. "Right now, we need to work out what to do next." She glanced over at Melis. "Can we use the rover's power supply to recharge the Sturt?"

Melis shook his head. "If the reactor on the Sturt was active then we could. While it is dormant though, there is nothing we can do. Their reactor is at least a hundred times more powerful than ours, and even at maximum output the rover couldn't put out enough energy to start it up."

Looking thoughtful, Susan considered other possibilities. "How about one of the shuttles?" she asked. "We could fly one through the cloud and land it near the Sturt."

"That is a possibility," Melis said, nodding his head. Then his eyes widened. "Except of course, the cloud interferes with all electrical activity. That must have been what happened to the Sturt." He looked down at Lawton. "Did you fly into the cloud at all when you attempted to take off?"

Lawton nodded. "Yes. We didn't have enough reserves left to go straight up, so we had to take off into the cloud. It puts less strain on the reactor that way, and I was hoping that we wouldn't need the reserves at all."

"That's what happened then," Melis told Susan. "The Sturt's systems were shorted out when they flew into the cloud. Remember what happened to the missile, and the Starfury."

Susan nodded, remembering what they had found on the Rasputin when they opened up the missile Lawton had ordered fired through the cloud. "The electronics were burnt out." She looked over at Lawton. "Have you checked the systems on your ship."

He nodded. "Of course, that was the first thing we looked at. They are shielded though, and supposed to survive any natural storm, even high radiation. They should not have been effected by it. We didn't find any damage, although they may have just been temporarily deactivated."

"I am beginning to think that this isn't a natural storm," Susan muttered, remembering what the Vorlon in the swamp had said about wards. "It looks more like a shield of some kind. Perhaps it is an artificial storm the Vorlon's put here to keep something trapped here."

"That is a possibility," Melis agreed. "This is, after all, a Vorlon world. We don't know what they left lying around here when they left the galaxy. We have already found one crashed ship, and then there was the pillar we saw soon after arriving. You said that was Vorlon."

Susan nodded, then quickly changed the subject. She didn't want Melis to learn exactly how she knew it was Vorlon in nature, that would raise too many questions as this stage. "We still need to work out what to do with the Sturt and her crew. Speculating about possible threats isn't going to help us right now." She turned back to Lawton and Maloney. "I am still in favour of getting everyone off this world as soon as possible. We can worry about the Sturt once everyone is safe."

Lawton nodded. "I agree. I would prefer to fly out of here on the Sturt, but the safety of my crew comes first... At least those that are left."

"Then we will compromise," Susan replied. "Pick forty members of your crew that you can do without for now, and send them back with the rover. Three of my team will go back with them, and signal for a shuttle. With any luck there might be something on the Rasputin that can recharge the Sturt, although I can't think of anything at the moment. The rest of my team will remain here and we will see if we find out what has happened to your missing crew, not to mention my missing rover."

"That sounds dangerous to me," Lawton cautioned. "If there is some sort of monster out there, then we might just end up with you going missing as well. Every team I have sent out so far has vanished without trace."

"But they didn't have any of these," Sergeant Drake cut in, hefting a weighty PPG cannon in one meaty hand. "My boys will take care of any monster, after all that is what we do best."

Lawton could only nod in agreement. "Perhaps you are right," he said cautiously, eyeing the gun nervously. "All we had were a few standard pistols, and they wouldn't have stopped anything really big."

"Then we are agreed," Susan said. "Sergeant, I will put you in charge of unpacking the equipment. Everyone else I want to get ready to move onto the Sturt for a while. It looks like we could be here for a week at least, so we might as well get comfortable."

 

* * *

 

 

The normally quiet throne room was a hive of activity. The Mistress had ordered all of the items taken from the alien machine to be bought into the throne room, and now they were heaped up near her throne. Around the piles of alien devices and other strange items, a group of females, all high ranking artisans, were picking up and examining each item in turn. Even the alien's clothing was strange and new, and one shirt had already been torn apart by an artisan who was testing the strength of the fabric. The female might not have the sharp claws of the males, but their strength was still great enough to quickly rib the thin material.

Watching over this chaotic scene were the Mistress and her two closest advisers, General Azrak, and Counsellor Morkazz. The two males did not seem as interested in the alien artefacts as the artisans, but the Mistress had taken an interested in several items so far, and had even examined a couple personally.

Currently she held a slim, dangerous looking, PPG rifle. She already knew how the Earthforce weapons worked, having seen them in use several times on ISN, but quickly snapped up the opportunity to examine one up close. Then another object caught her eye, and after placing the PPG rifle carefully on the ground next to the throne, she leant forward and pointed towards the interesting device. Although she had again cloaked her form in shadows, Morkazz noticed her interest and quickly picked the item up, carrying it carefully over to the throne. As Mistress took it from him, she began to turn the object over in her hands, feeling the edges and examining the buttons that were mounted on its front panel.

"What is it," the closest of the artisans, the venerable Kaj, asked. The artisan picked up another of the strange devices and gazed at it suspiciously. Like several other objects Azrak's warriors had recovered, it was constructed of metal, but had been painted a dark green, which seemed to be a popular colour among this particular group of aliens. Artefacts recovered from the first aliens that had landed had been a wide variety of colours, but these newer arrivals seemed to favour drab greens and greys.

"It appears to be a communication device," the Mistress replied, after she had completed a cursory examination. "I do not know how it works though."

"Perhaps one of these buttons activates it," Kaj suggested, while at the same time keeping her fingers well away from the suspicious looking buttons. The artisan had learnt from past experience that wasn't a good idea to start playing with alien devices without first working out what they did. She already had a long scar on her hand where a laser scalpel taken from one of the captured aliens sliced through her scaly skin while she had been examining it.

The Mistress, however, had no such fears. After examining the device for another minute, she gently touched the large flat button mounted on the side. There was a click, and then a faint hissing sound came from the device. The hiss quickly started to echo around the room, as if the material of the walls and ceiling were somehow amplifying the device's signal Everyone in the room turned to look at it questioningly, wondering what its function was, and why it was making the peculiar sound. The Mistress tapped another button and then, after a short wait, an unfamiliar voice spoke through the static. "Who is this? Are you receiving me? This is Sergeant Drake. Please respond... Major Logan?"

Everyone in the room looked at the transmitter in shock, Azrak even going so far as to drop his hand to one of his sheathed weapons. The Mistress, however, seemed unaffected by the strange voice. Instead she just held her finger to her lips to call for silence, and then, when everyone had stopped moving about and all was quiet, pressed the transmit button again. "You may call me Jeanne," was all she said, before taking her hand off the button and waiting for a response.

She didn't have long to wait, the voice on the other end quickly returning. It sounded excited, as if her reply was unexpected, but still very welcome. "Please repeat, did you say Jeanne? Are you a member of the Sturt's crew?."

She didn't answer him though, instead she switched off the transmitter with a quick flick of her finger and placed it careful down on the arm of her throne. "Very interesting," she said, slowly tapping the device with one dark fingernail. "This may come in very useful indeed."

"What for, Mistress," Azrak asked her, still looking suspiciously at the alien device. "Won't they be able to use that to discover our location? We can find the scout's locations by using the tracking device if they are using their communicators. Remember, you showed us how to do it. Won't the alien's have a similar device for finding where their transmitters are?"

She nodded. "Yes they will, Azrak. That is what makes it so useful." When the general looked confused, she almost smiled, before continuing, "I will explain later, when it is time."

"Very good, Mistress," Azrak replied, although he still looked at the communicator as though it was going to bite him. He looked around at the rest of the equipment and personal possessions heaped up around the throne. "Is there anything else here that is going to be... useful?"

"Perhaps," she replied, her voice seeming to grow softer. "But, further examination can wait until later. Right now, I wish to rest."

Azrak bowed. "Understood, Mistress. When shall we return?"

She considered that question for a few seconds before replying. "Come back in five hours time, and bring the new prisoner with you when you come. I wish to question her about the function of some of these items."

Azrak looked concerned by that idea, he didn't like the idea of allowing an alien warrior so close to the Mistress. "Are you certain, Mistress?" he asked. "She is a dangerous creature, much more violent that the other aliens. I would not want her to get loose."

"I am sure you can handle her, Azrak," she replied. "Now leave." She turned towards Kaj and the other artisans. "Take what you wish to examine, and return when you have the results of your studies."

The chief artisan bowed, and quickly collected a small pile of objects, including one of the communicators, a PPG pistol and several other devices they still hadn't discovered the function of yet. The other artisans did much the same, although they were more cautious about their selections, not wishing to upset their mistress by choosing something that she may be interested in. Then, loaded down with alien artefacts they bowed and hurried out of the throne room.

Soon only Kaj, Azrak, and the counsellor, Morkazz, were left. Then, Kaj bowed again and also left, although she took the time to snatch up two heavy looking bags and sling them over her shoulders before departing. The counsellor and the warrior watched the shapely figure of the artisan until she had left the throne room, and then turned back to the face the Mistress, who was examined both of her servants with a faint smile on her face.

"Is there anything you wish to examine closer, Azrak?" she asked in a faintly teasing tone, the smile still on her face. Then she added, "a weapon perhaps?"

"Nothing, Mistress," the general replied quickly. "None of these alien things interest me. However, I would like to see the results of the artisan's examinations when they are finished. A good warrior always tries to learn as much as possible about his opponent. These aliens are very strange, and they may still prove a threat. Knowing what we face is useful."

The Mistress nodded. "Indeed it is," she agreed. "You may go then. Remember to bring the prisoner when you return."

"Yes, Mistress," Azrak said, before bowing and withdrawing, heading back down to the lower levels, and the small cell where he had left the prisoner that the Mistress was so interested in. Personally, he thought the idea of capturing these prisoners wasn't very wise, as sooner or later other aliens would come to rescue them. While his warriors, with their new energy absorbing armour, were safe enough, he still worried for the workers on the various construction sites. However, the Mistress must know what she was doing. Apart from one rather spectacular tragedy many years ago, she had never failed his people. He did wish that she would tell him a little more of her plan though.

Still in the throne room, Morkazz had no such concerns. He knew little more than Azrak about the Mistress' plan, but was absolutely certain that whatever she was planning would work. However there was one thing that was troubling him, something that she had said during the brief conversation with the alien who had answered the communication device. As the last of the artisans, closely followed by Azrak, filed out of the throne room, he turned back to the throne. "Mistress," he said slowly, as if hesitating about what he was to about to say. "May I ask you something."

"Of course, Morkazz," she replied, slowly allowing the shadows she cloaked herself in to fade away again, now that she was alone once more, with just her counsellor to see her. Had he not been aware of her appearance she would have maintained them, but the effort it required tired her. She was, after all, a creature of light, and the darkness only made her weaker, but the cloaking effect was still need for now, at least until her plans were complete. Then it wouldn't matter who saw her, or what they thought. 

As her features came into view, the counsellor got the impression that she was very tired. While she had appeared confident and strong while the others had been present, now she slumped back against the cushioned throne, and no longer appeared to be her normal strong self. Morkazz wondered if she was growing weaker again. He was beginning to worry, as each day she seemed to grow more and more feeble. However, her weakness didn't stop him asking the question. He knew that if he didn't it would trouble him for days, and it was better to ask now and not have to worry about it.

"When you were talking to the alien device," he began cautiously. "You used a name... Is that your name?"

A look of sadness flickered across the Mistress' lips for a fraction of a second. "It was my name, but I was a different person then. I was young and driven, now I am old and tired. However, if it pleases you, then you may think of Jeanne as my name. It is as good as any other. But the girl who it belonged to is long dead, and all that is left of her are my memories."

Morkazz nodded. "I understand, Mistress... Jeanne."

"Good," she replied softly. Then she looked up, and seemed to grow stronger again. "Now, bring me that book over there. I wish to read it."

Morkazz looked over at what she was pointing toward, and saw a thick volume with a dark brown cover, and gold leaf along its spine. "What is it?" the counsellor asked, as he tugged the book free of the pile it was stuck under. He glanced down at the book, reading the writing on the cover. The words didn't seem to make sense to him, but he handed it over anyway.

"I don't know," she said, taking the book from him, and brushing away some dust that had collected on it during the rough journey from the rover to the palace. "However it reminds me of something, that is why I want to look at it. You may leave, I will be fine here alone for a while. You do not need to worry about me. Return when Azrak brings the prisoner."

"Yes, Mistress," the counsellor replied with a low bow, before picking his way past the piles of alien equipment, heading towards the throne room doors. He paused for a second to look back at her, concerned for her health. She noticed him though and motioned with her hand for him to leave. He bowed again and pulled the huge golden doors closed behind him. They shut with a faint echoing clunk, and then she was alone in the vast, almost empty, throne room.

Looking down at the book in her hands, she slowly ran her fingers over the rough material that had been used for the cover. It had been a long time since she had seen a book from Earth, and the ones she had read in her youth had mainly been hand-written religious tomes, not well crafted like this one. She had seen pictures of books on ISN, usually in stories about record prices paid for some ancient mouldy tome or another. However, this book appeared to be fairly new and probably wasn't more than two or three years old.

There was no words on the cover, so she turned it one its side and examined the writing along the spine. "Diary of Anne Kasper," she read aloud, scanning the handwritten words. She hesitated for a moment, before opening the cover and turning to the first page of entries. She knew about diaries, of course. In fact, she even had her own upstairs in her bedroom. Of course, hers was written on paper made from a local reed, and with an ink distilled from the blood of a spiny beetle found in the swamps, but the principle was the same.

This was probably why she felt a little strange about prying into the private thoughts of the woman who owned the diary. But Jeanne was still intrigued, wondering why the woman would use a book instead of the more modern recording devices available on Earth - the ones that were always being advertised on ISN, during the commercial breaks the network seemed to insist on having every few minutes. She touched a control built into her throne, and the lights of the throne room increased in magnitude, allowing her to see the lines of neat handwriting better. Then she settled back in the throne and began to slowly read the first page.

 

* * *

 

Commander Gregor Petrov rested his boots on the command console, slowly sipping a warm cup of coffee, while reading from a data pad he clasped in his right hand. To anyone viewing him for the first time, he looked the picture of a relaxed and calm first officer, but the bridge crew that were serving under him knew better. The commander had spent the past two days pacing around the bridge, awaiting word from the surface. He wasn't normally like this, but he couldn't help but be concerned when the Captain was risking her life on the surface of an alien world, instead of up here commanding the Rasputin as she should have been.

For the moment though, he was taking a break from shouting at the crew and pacing around the bridge. Instead he was catching up on the latest reports from the warship's sensors. He had ordered an around the clock watch on the moon, just in case something new happened, but so far Arias had remained much the same as it had been when they first approached. There had been some minor changes in the pattern of the lightning that flashed continuously through the dark cloud, but nothing that would warrant an investigation.

Then, just as he was reaching the end of the third report, that all changed. Lieutenant Heneker, the pretty red-haired officer who was currently acting as his second in command, suddenly called out, "Commander, I think you had better take a look at this."

Petrov quickly swung his feet down onto the metal floor of the deck beneath him. He placed his coffee cup and the data pad on the console his feet had been resting on, and then hurried down the stairs into the sunken bridge area. Heneker was sitting next to the communications console, while through the console's speaker a strange message was being delivered. In fact it wasn't much of a message, just a single short phrase.

"You may call me Jeanne," Petrov muttered to himself. He looked up at Heneker. "What the hell does that mean, and who is Jeanne. Was that all there was to the message, nothing more?"

"That was it, Commander," Heneker assured him. "Of course, we shouldn't have even been able to pick up that much, the storm has blocked all other communication attempts. You would need something with the power of a starship's communication array to cut through that much interference. The Sturt might be able to do it, but we haven't heard anything from them before now, so I doubt it was them. It might have been a site to site communication though, using one of the portable communicators on the rovers. We may have just picked up a small snippet of the conversation. Perhaps there was a brief gap in the storm, and part of the communication slipped through.

"It's still a strange thing to say. It sounds... strange. I can't quiet explain it, but it just doesn't seem to be something that I would say in normal conversation. I don't know anyone called Jeanne either."

"One of the landing party?" Heneker asked. 

"There is no-one on the landing party with that name," Petrov replied with absolute certainty, without even pausing to consider the possibility. Not only had he been assisting the captain as she picked out the marines to accompany the IPX team to the surface, but he also knew most of the crew on board. Having been responsible for organising much of the day to day activities on the Rasputin, he had quickly picked up their names even if there were over a thousand crew members now on board the warship.

"Maybe it's one of the Sturt's crew," another crewman standing nearby suggested.

Petrov glanced over at the crewman, recognising him as Harry Ericsson, a tactical specialist who usually spent most of his time down on the secondary bridge. Petrov vaguely remembered Ericsson being rostered onto the main bridge today, part of the Captain plan to familiarise all the crew with the Rasputin's operations. "I don't remember anyone by that name in the briefing documents," he told the tactician. "However, you had better check just in case. Use the navigation console, it has a link to ships database."

Ericsson nodded, and slipped into the seat on the console opposite, quickly calling up the required information. "Just checking now, Commander," he said, feeding the information into the console. Data flowed across the screen for a second and then the computer popped up a message informing him that it was checking with Earth Central. "Looks like it could take a while," he said apologetically. "The computer hasn't found a match against crew records, for either the Rasputin or the Sturt, and is now attempting a match with Earthforce records back on Earth. If she was ever in Earthforce, then it will find her."

Petrov turned back to Heneker, who was still trying to retrieve more of the communication. "It was Jeanne wasn't it? Did you hear the same as I did?"

She nodded. "It was very clear, Sir. In fact, lot clearer than I would have expected. I definitely heard Jeanne, the same as you."

Across the other side of the bridge, Ericsson suddenly leaned forward. "It looks like the computer has come up with something, Sir. It doesn't appear that she is, or ever was a member of Earthforce. The analysis suggests human, female, aged eighteen to twenty years. The accent suggests Western European, possibly France or Belgium, at least that is what the computer is telling me. That seems to be all it can come up with though, and it is giving me a twenty percent error margin on that analysis, so it could still be wrong."

"That doesn't give us a lot to go on," Petrov replied. He walked over to Ericsson's side and leant down to look at the data. "Bring up the Sturt's crew list again. I want to check something."

Ericsson nodded, and soon a list of names scrolled across the screen. Petrov studied them for several seconds before turning away again. "Hmm, no-one there that matches that description, and there certainly wasn't anyone in the landing party that it could be. This is starting to get strange."

"There is a Janet Petrilli here," Ericsson said, pointing out one entry on the screen. "That is nearly the same as Jeanne. It could have been here."

Petrov shook his head. "Dr. Petrilli is thirty eight, and even if the computer analysis was wrong, it is unlikely that it would be that wrong. Anyway, I definitely heard Jeanne, as did the lieutenant here." He looked up at Heneker. "Play it again, and increase the volume so everyone can hear it."

She nodded, and the entire bridge crew listened to the short phrase. As soon as it had finished, Ericsson nodded. "You're right sir, definitely Jeanne."

"Which means that we have someone down there who doesn't appear on any of the crew lists." Petrov looked around at the crew. "Now, does anyone have any suggestions as to how she got there?"

Most of the bridge crew shook there head, unable to come up with any possible reason. One though, offered the suggestion that the message might not have come from the planet, and it could have been a stray communication from somewhere else that had been picked up by the Rasputin's sensors. Petrov looked over at Heneker, but she shook her head. "It definitely came from the planet, Commander. I can even pinpoint the exact location for you."

"You can?" Petrov asked, looking surprised at that revelation. "Put it up on the screen then."

She nodded, and tapped in a few commands on the keyboard. Above them, the holographic screen that covered the bridge ceiling changed from the normal view of the planet they were orbiting to a close up of the dark, cloud covered region. Heneker typed in a few commands, and the expanse of darkness was lit up with several bright indicators. One showed the possible location of the Sturt, while another, barely twenty kilometres from the first according to the display, showed the spot where the communication had been detected.

After stepping back so he could see most of the ceiling at once, Petrov examined the display for several seconds before speaking. "Now this is interesting. Correct me I am wrong, Lieutenant, but isn't that location at the very centre of the storm."

Heneker looked down at her screen and frowned. Then, she looked up at the holographic display again. Finally, she zoomed out the view and nodded in agreement with the Commander's observations. "I believe you are correct, Sir. The location of the communication corresponds almost exactly with the eye of the storm. That might explain why we could pick it up, there may be less interference down there."

Petrov turned back to Ericsson. "Can the sensor's pick up anything down there?"

The tactician quickly moved from the navigation console, and over the tactical. There, he linked in with the ships sensors and did a quick sweep on the area Petrov had pointed out. "Nothing on the first pass, Sir. I can order a full sweep, but based on this information I don't think we will find anything. The interference is still too thick down there. It would take a pretty powerful transmitter to cut through it."

The Commander tapped his chin thoughtfully, before walking back up the his command station. He looked down at Heneker and Ericsson as soon as he had resumed his seat. "Continue to look for any signs of a resumed transmission. If you pick up anything let me know."

"Yes Sir," they both replied.

Then, just as Petrov was about to turn back to his data pad, Heneker asked, "is that all, Sir? You don't want us to try and contact Captain Ivanova, or anything like that. The Rasputin's transmitter could reach the surface with little trouble."

Petrov put aside his data pad again. "There isn't a lot more that we can do from up here. The last message we received from the Captain said that everything was fine, and that she would be out of communications beneath that cloud for the next three to seven days."

"But the message..."

Petrov nodded. "I know, it's still strange, but there is still the possibility that the computer just picked up a transmission that was garbled by the atmospheric interference and we heard it wrong." He held up his hand before Heneker could attempt to argue the point. "Now, I admit that isn't a very likely scenario, but I did promise the Captain a week before I sent another team in to look for her, and she is going to get that week. We will just have to hope that she sorts out whatever is happening down there."

Heneker nodded, and turned back to her console. Her face though, told a different story. She obviously wasn't convinced by his arguments and, although it was only a single short phrase that they had picked up, Petrov agreed with her. There was something about that voice that worried him, not to mention the way the transmission had been crystal clear, with almost no interference at all. It was almost as though the signal had been boosted somehow, and as far as he knew there was nothing on the rovers, or on the Sturt that could do that.

 

* * *

 

A guttural roar shattered the peace of the swamplands. Heading away from the crashed survey ship, a small inflatable hovercraft swept across the water toward the area of drier land where the rover had been parked. Several annoyed screeches answered it as the local wildlife voiced their disapproval of the craft in their swamp. As it vanished into the darkness, Susan picked her way across the muddy island to the small rocky outcropping where Sergeant Drake was supervising the unpacking of several equipment crates.

"Is that the last of them?" She asked, while at the same time looking suspiciously at a ripple in the water. The creature causing the ripple must have felt her gaze, as there was a sudden blur of something black and scaly and then the waters grew quiet again. Susan shuddered and looked away. She was beginning to think that she would prefer not to know what was living in this swamp.

"That's it, Captain," Drake replied. "The rover can leave as soon as we get this last load of passengers over to the shore. We have enough supplies here to keep us going for weeks, and enough weapons to hold off a small army."

"Good," Susan said. Then she pulled three data crystals out of her pocket and handed them to Terry Maloney, who was waiting for the last hovercraft to carry him over to the rover. "Give these to Commander Petrov as soon as you get onto the Rasputin." 

Maloney took the crystals and shoved them into his deepest pocket, while Susan turned back to speak to Drake. "Give the order for the rover to depart as soon as all the passengers are on board." She glanced back at Maloney again. "Do you remember my instructions?"

"Don't stop for anything," Maloney said with a impish grin. "You can rely on me, Captain."

Susan nodded and said, "I'm sure I can." Then, she walked over to where Captain Lawton stood, watching the swamp with a dejected expression. "The first load of your crew will be leaving soon," she said. "If there is anything you want to say to Mr. Maloney, then you had better do it now. I want that rover on its way back to the landing site within the hour."

Lawton glanced over at the inflatable hovercraft pulled up on the muddy shore. Maloney was just clambering on board. "I think he should be able to handle himself OK without me telling him what to do."

Susan shrugged. "Suit yourself. I always prefer to have a quick word with my officers before they leave on a mission. But, you're right, he should be fine. We didn't have any trouble on the way in, so he should be all right backtracking our path."

"You did lose one of your rovers though," Lawton reminded her. "I wouldn't call that 'no trouble'."

"I am still hoping the Major will turn up," Susan said with a frown, not really wanting to be reminding of the overdue rover. She was growing very worried by now by the sudden disappearance of the second rover, especially after what she had seen in the swamp when they had gone to investigate the crashed Vorlon ship. She still hoped that nothing more serious that mechanical failure had struck it, but with every passing minute that possibility became more and more unlikely.

"I did the same when my crew started going missing," Lawton said gloomily, shuffling his feet and looking out over the swamp. "They never did..."

Susan's frown grew deeper. She was usually the one that saw the worst in every situation, but now it seemed she had met her match in the despondent Lawton. "Don't speak that way around the crew," she said, probably a lot more harshly than was necessary. "We need to keep everyone's hopes up. Morale is very important in these sort of situations. I don't mind what you think, but keep your thoughts to yourself, at least until we are out of this swamp and safely back on board the Rasputin."

Lawton looked like he was about to speak, but the sudden throaty roar from the nearby hovercraft downed out his voice. It quickly rose on its cushion of air and sped off across the swamp toward the rover. "I wish they could make those things quieter," Lawton said when the noise had finally died down to a more tolerable level.

"They are designed to operate in most conditions," Susan replied. "Also they have to be carried inside a relatively small vehicle, so that means that bulky, and therefore quieter, engines are impossible."

Lawton nodded, and watched as the small hovercraft disappeared into the gloomy darkness. Only the occasional burst of lightning provided any relief from the continual night, and it certainly wasn't very comforting. During their journey to the Sturt, Susan and her team had seen several trees being struck by lightning, and behind them a burnt patch on the Sturt's hull marked the location of yet another lightning strike. The ground nearby was still littered with fragments of the solar collector damaged in the strike.

"Captain Ivanova," a voice cut in, ending her musings.

She turned around to face the speaker. "What is it, Dr. Melis?" 

"I wanted to know when we are going to be leaving on this search for the missing rover."

Susan looked at Melis in surprise. She noticed that he had changed back into his suit, and despite the mud clinging to his shoes, he looked like he was a businessman preparing for a trip. "You want to come with us?" she asked incredulously. "It isn't going to be an easy journey, especially not on foot."

"I used to go hiking every weekend back on Earth," he replied. "I think I can keep up with you without too much trouble."

Susan had to agree with that. Dr. Melis might be a pain, but he was obviously fit enough to keep up with her. He was a big man, but didn't appear to be at all overweight. "You might need to find some more suitable clothing than that," she said, looking disdainfully at his immaculately tailored suit.

"I have something in one of my bags that should be suitable," Melis replied, glancing over at the pile of personal belongings near where Sergeant Drake was working. "As well as a good pair of hiking boots."

Susan sighed. "Very well then, doctor. You can come, but try to stay out of trouble, and if their is a fire fight then keep well out of everyone's way."

"I will," Melis assured her, and quickly made his way back to where his bags had been piled.

Susan looked at the pile of baggage and shook her head in amazement, wondering how someone could need so much. As Melis started pulling out clothing and a new set of boots she turned her gaze over to where the rest of the equipment had been off loaded. Seeing Sergeant Drake wasn't busy, she walked over to talk to him.

"Captain," the sergeant said with a quick salute.

"Is everything on schedule," she asked him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Melis hurry off towards the Sturt, his hiking gear bundled beneath his arm.

Drake nodded, and then pointed in the direction the hovercraft had just travelled. "The last of the passengers should be boarding the rover now. I have Tiedtke and Cooper doing a search of this swamp with the third inflatable, while everyone else is moving this stuff into the Sturt. I didn't think it would be a good idea to leave it lying out here with people missing."

"Good work," Susan said, pleased with his initiative. "Make sure you keep all patrols in groups of two. I don't want anyone wandering around here without someone to watch their backs."

"Already taken care of , Captain," Drake replied. "I have even roped in some of the Sturt's crew to do patrols while we are off looking for the Major and the others."

"As long as you don't give them anything more than a standard PPG rifle," Susan warned. "I don't want them shooting themselves or something that might blow anything up."

"That's about all we can spare," Drake said with a smile. "We only have a few of these big guns unfortunately. I should have asked the Major to pack more, but I didn't really think we were going to need them. Now, I think we need every weapon we can lay out hands on."

Susan nodded, and then a sudden thought came to her. "Did the other rover have much in the way of weapons?"

Drake shook his head. "No, just three rifles and few pistols. Seeing most of that team was made up the IPX guys, Major Logan didn't think she wanted too many weapons lying around. Not that she didn't trust them, but she just though that they might damage them or something. I don't think she likes scientists."

Seeing that Melis was still in hearing range, Susan choose not to agree openly with the Sergeant's statement. Although she agreed wholeheartedly with the what Drake had said, she didn't think her personal views would help the already strained relations between the Earthforce officers and the IPX team. Already this mission was starting to go wrong, and although she couldn't really blame that on the IPX team, she still blamed them for being ordered here in the first place. Every time she had been forced to work with researchers, especially those from IPX, the situation had turned out badly.

"Just make sure we have plenty of firepower with us," she ordered Drake. "We don't really know what is out there, and I don't want to be caught short. Load plenty of spare caps as well."

Drake nodded, and opened a crate in front of him. "Is this enough for you, Captain," he said with a smile.

Susan glanced down at the neatly stored rows of energy caps. "Are you sure you didn't pack the Rasputin's entire arsenal?" she said, shaking her head. "This is enough to outfit a whole regiment."

"Major Logan likes to be prepared, Captain," Drake said, closing up the lid of the crate again so nothing would damage the energy caps. "I wouldn't mind one of the new tanks here right now though."

Susan couldn't help shuddering at the mention of the new experimental tanks. They had been designed during the last days of the civil war, and used more than a little Shadow technology. She had ordered them locked securely away in one of the cargo holds, and was hoping that everyone had forgotten about them. "We will just have to make do without them," she replied.

Drake nodded, and then looked at something over her shoulder. "It looks like Captain Lawton wants to speak to you again."

Susan followed his gaze and saw Lawton motioning to her to come and join him over by the Sturt. "Continue with your work, Sergeant," she said as she walked away. "Make sure everyone is back here within the next hour. I want to start out as soon as possible."

Lawton waited patiently as Susan made her way over to his location, close to the ladder leading up into the Sturt. "What is it, Captain," she asked as soon as she reached him.

"I wondered if you would like a tour of the Sturt before you set out?" the survey ship's captain asked her. "We have a lot of equipment for surveying planets on board. There might be something that you find useful."

"Sounds like a good idea," Susan said. "You go ahead, I will join you in a minute."

Lawton nodded and began to climb up the ladder towards the hatch above. Susan glanced around the small island, just to check to make sure everything was proceeding correctly. She was about to follow Lawton, when she noticed Talia gesturing to her. Looking up towards the hatch she saw that the Sturt's captain had already disappeared, so she climbed back down from the ladder and walked over to see what Talia wanted. "What is it?" she asked, noticing the worried look on her lover's face.

Talia nervously brushed a few strands of hair away from her face before speaking. "I wanted to ask you about that Vorlon ship," she said. "I wanted to ask you a about it before, but I didn't want to say anything with everyone one else around." She looked around nervously again. "Did you... feel anything strange when you were examining it?"

"Did you feel something?" Susan asked her cautiously. She hadn't told Talia about what had happened when she went to investigate the crashed Vorlon ship yet, but somehow she realised that this wasn't just about what she had seen. Talia had felt something there too. "What was it?" she quickly added, before Talia had time to reply.

"I... I don't know," the blonde telepath replied. "That's the problem. I thought I felt a presence, another intelligent mind out there. But it only lasted for a few seconds, then it was gone. It felt familiar though."

Susan nodded, and then guided Talia away from the ship so no-one else could overhear what they were saying. To make even more certain she switch to telepathic speech.  <It was a Vorlon,> she informed Talia.  <Somehow, when I touched the hull of the crashed ship it awoke and spoke to me. It showed me something.>

<Can I see what it showed you?> Talia asked. Then when she saw a brief flicker of fear crossing Susan's face, she added,  <I will be careful not to hurt you.>

Even though she was closer with Talia than she had been with anyone before, Susan still felt fearful every time she allowed Talia all the way into her mind. It was difficult to give up twenty years of hated and fear, but despite her lingering terror of submitting to a telepathic probe, she nodded, and allowed Talia's thoughts to gently caress her mind, awakening the memories of what had happened. Together they went back several hours, back to the vision the now dead Vorlon had showed her.

When it was over, only seconds later, Talia pulled away slowly, a look of awe on her face.  <Was that really a Vorlon? > she asked.

Susan nodded.  <I think it was what was left of one. It must have remained here after its ship crashed, in some sort of hibernation. It was probably keeping the tiny remaining portion of its life so it could contact someone to replace it. I think it might have thought I was a Vorlon as well, at least at first. That might have been why it chose to talk to me.>

<Do you know what it means though?> Talia asked.  <I mean, what was all that about a prison, and the Empire depending on your success.>

<That's what has me worried,> Susan replied.  <I think there is something on this world that the Vorlon's didn't want escaping. It might have been something the Shadow's created, or maybe something indigenous to this world.>

<You don't think that is what has been taking everyone who has gone missing do you?>

<I don't know,> Susan admitted.  <I think it is a possibility though. Of course, this creature the Vorlon was talking about could be dead by now. That ship had been lying in the swamp for hundreds of years.>

<Do you think we should tell the others?> Talia asked, peering nervously in the direction of the swamp. A trail of bubbles was slowly making its way across the water, so she edged behind Susan. Then, a loud cracking sound echoed across the swamp, followed closely by a distant splash.  <It could be out there now, listening to what we are saying.>

<Or it could just be a rotten log falling into the swamp,> Susan said, although her hand slipped lower to grip her PPG, and she scanned the now quiet swamp for several second's before replying.  <That is why I don't want tell the others about what I saw yet, or about the warning. Everyone is already nervous, and if I tell them there could be something out there, something that the Vorlon's were afraid of, then it's only going to make things a lot worse.>

<I understand,> Talia said, still looking nervously at the swamp.  <At least I think I do. I only hope that whatever this thing is, it doesn't end up killing us.> Then, she frowned and looked at Susan.  <What warning? You mentioned a warning.>

Susan was about to tell her about the pillar when an excited voice called out to her from the water's edge. She turned around to see Sergeant Drake waving a portable transmitter at her. She turned back to Talia for a second.  <I will tell you later,> she said, before hurrying over to see what Drake wanted. Talia followed her.

"I picked up a transmission, Captain," Drake told her excitedly as soon as the two woman reached the rocky outcropping where the crates of equipment had been off loaded. "It was from one of our transmitters."

"From one of your patrols?" Susan asked. "Are they in trouble?"

Drake shook his head. "No, not one of the patrols. I meant it came from one of the transmitters on the other rover."

Susan raised her eyes at that. "What did they say?" she asked, a note of relief creeping into her voice.

Drake frowned. "Well, it was a little strange," he said. "I was checking the transmitters when I saw a the signal indicator light up." He held up the transmitter to show Susan the indicator he was talking about. "I thought it could be someone trying to reach us, so I asked who it was, thinking it could be Major Logan."

"Was it?" Susan cut in.

"No," Drake replied with a shake of his head. "At least I don't think so. It was some woman, and all she said was 'You may call me Jeanne.' Then the signal cut out. I tried to raise her again, but there was no response."

"Jeanne?" Susan said, looking confused. "I don't remember anyone called Jeanne." She glanced over at Talia, who was looking thoughtful. "Do you know anyone by that name?"

After a couple of seconds, Talia shook her head. "Not among the IPX team, or the Sturt's crew. However there was a Janet somebody on the Sturt. Jeanne... Janet, they are sort of the same."

Susan looked back at Drake. "Could it have been Janet that you heard?"

Drake looked doubtful, but still nodded. "It could have been, I guess. I thought I heard Jeanne though, but there may have been some interference."

"That is still a strange thing to say," Talia noted. "When I am reply to someone like that I don't usually say, 'You may call me Talia.' Some alien races speak that way, but not Humans."

"It is strange," Susan agreed. "There might have been more to the communication though." She looked at the transmitter, before asking Drake, "Did you get a recording?"

"Sorry, Captain," he replied. "I was just testing the equipment, I didn't think to press record. I didn't think anyone was going to answer me."

"Damn, we might have been able to find out more."

"I did find out where it was being sent from though," Drake offered. "I flicked on the locate switch as soon as I saw the signal indicator. It was a little vague, but I got enough of a fix to narrow it down to the nearest square kilometre."

"Can you show me?" Susan asked quickly.

Drake nodded and began rummaging around in the same create he had taken the transmitter from. Eventually he emerged clutching the portable navigation unit that Dr. Melis had been using earlier, when they had been on the rover. He switched it on and plugged in the transmitter. A few seconds latter the holographic map appeared on the screen. Talia and Susan moved closer to examine what Drake had come up with.

"It looks like it came from here, Drake said, pointing to a red mark near the centre of the map. 

"Isn't that the location we thought was the centre of the this storm," Susan asked, pointing to one of the indicators that Melis had left on the map. One mark showed the location of the Sturt, and another indicated what had been decided was the eye of the storm, based on the surveys conducted by Lt. Commander Schmitt's fighter pilots.

"Looks like it, Captain," Drake agreed. "It is about thirty clicks from here."

"How the hell did Major Logan get all the way over there."

"Assuming it was Major Logan's transmitter," Talia cautioned.

"It had to be," Drake informed her. "All of these transmitters and locked into the one frequency. They are designed to communicate only with another transmitter set to the same frequency. None of the Sturt's crew had anything like this. So it had to have come from the Major's rover."

"That is a long way from where we last saw them though," Susan noted, still examining the map.

Drake nodded. "If it was a clear run then they could have made it there easily. It has been nearly ten hours since we were last in contact with them. They could have probably made that trip about twenty times over by now."

"It could be a trap," Talia said, still cautious after what Susan had just shown her. "If there is some alien monster out there that has been grabbing the Sturt's crew, then it might be intelligent enough to set a trap. It might be trying to entice us into its lair or something like that."

Drake looked at Susan, who said, "that is another possibility." Then, she looked at Drake. "What do you think, Sergeant?"

He looked surprised at being asked his opinion. "Well, I guess it could be a trap. But I still think we should check it out. If there is some sort of creature out there, then my boys will have to take care of it. But, I don't think we should just abandon the Major because there could be something out there."

"I agree," Susan said, standing up. "Recall the patrols. I want the rescue team ready to leave in thirty minutes. I will speak to Captain Lawton and Dr. Melis."

Drake nodded, and saluted. Then he picked up one of the transmitters and began to contact the three inflatable hovercrafts, ordering everyone back to the Sturt. Talia and Susan headed off toward the Sturt's ladder again. On the way though, Talia asked  <Before we go any further, what was this about a warning?>

Susan turned a looked at her, a slightly apologetic expression on her face.  <I should have told you this earlier. Do you remember the pillar we found?> When Talia nodded, she continued.  <It was Vorlon in nature, some sort of automated warning that they set up. When I touched it there was a message from a Vorlon telling me to turn back, to leave this world.>

<It sounds like the Vorlons were serious about this,> Talia commented.  <I only hope that whatever they were afraid of is long dead.>

<So do I,> Susan replied, with a grim expression. Then the corners of her mouth lifted in a wry smile.  <But, I don't think we are going to be that lucky.>

<Then, at least we can die together,> Talia said, her telepathic voice soft and wistful.

Susan looked at her in shock, amazed that she would even think such a thing.  <I have no intention of dying, Talia. We are going to find this thing, and get our people back. And if it tries to stop us, then we are going to kill it.>

<You are unusually optimistic today, Susan,> Talia noted, as they reached the ladder.

Susan stopped walking. She reached out and gently stroked Talia's cheek, while looking lovingly into her companion's eyes.  <That is because I have a lot more to live for now.> She pulled away again, and looked out over the swamp. < Either that, or these Vorlons have been tinkering with my mind.> Then, she looked up towards the dark hatch way leading into the survey ship.  <Come on, we had better get moving if we are going to get this rescue mission ready in time.>

Talia nodded, and both women climbed up the slippery ladder leading into the darkened interior of the Sturt. As they vanished into the ship's interior a feathery shape detached itself from the side of the ship and flew over the island. Even Drake, who was busy sorting through his weapons, didn't notice the Swordhawk as it circled above the encampment. Then with a whisper of sound it was gone, gliding noiselessly across the swamp toward its master.

The Chosen scout, who had just finished climbing back out of the water after the branch he had been sitting on had collapsed, held out his arm. Once the Swordhawk was resting comfortable on his arm, the scout packed up his recording equipment and slipped away into the forest. It was a long walk back to the Fortress, but he would have a good head start of the aliens. He knew the Mistress must be informed about their plans. He didn't think she would like uninvited guests arriving at her home, especially ones with dangerous weapons like those the big alien was carrying.

 

* * *

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER SIX   


* * *

 

A small procession slowly wound its way through the maze of corridors beneath the palace. At its head was the alien leader, Azrak, who was keeping a very close eye on his prisoner. Lily guessed his nervousness was due to her attempted escape when they had come to collect her from the cell she had been placed in. Unfortunately, the thick skull of the alien guard hadn't been affected by the metal tray she had struck him with, and she had been quickly overpowered.

They hadn't hurt her though, just dragged her along the corridor until she had agreed to walk on her own. Since then, the small collection of guards, except the one she had walloped of course, had been her constant companions. The maze of corridors had been confusing and, although Lily had tried to keep track of where they were going, it wasn't long before she was lost. Finally the frustration got to her and she blurted out, "Where are we going?"

The alien leader glanced back at her for a fraction of a second, and then turned away without answering. Lily sighed in frustration. This had been the third time she had tried to get some sort of information out of her guards about their destination, but they had continued to remain most uncooperative. She brushed a few specks of dried mud off her uniform. The aliens had given her new clothing, but she didn't trust anything they gave her. Instead, she had used it to try and clean up her uniform. For the most part she had been successful, but had been a few places where the mud hadn't dried properly, and she had been forced to wait until it dried before picking it off with her fingernails.

Two new guards hurried out of a side corridor and moved into position behind her. Lily glanced at them briefly, wondering what she had done to earn such a large escort. She began to wonder if they were not a little afraid of her. If they were, then perhaps she had some hope of getting out of this place alive. Certainly, at the moment anyway, she didn't see how she could fight her way free without some help, or failing that, a lot of luck. So far, she had seen at least a thousand aliens during her travels through their city. Most were smaller than the warriors that were now guarding her, but there had still been enough of them to give her cause to worry.

Then, the hallway she was being led down widened out and a pair of massive doors appeared in front of her. Lily examined the doors with interest as she approached. They looked almost as if they were made of solid gold, although there were also markings and symbols carved into the soft metal. She scanned around the corridor, and noticed several other passages leading off the main one. She also noticed the extraordinary number of warriors in this section. There were at least fifty, most guarding the big doors, but others were also stationed in the passages leading up to them.

Her warrior guide didn't hesitate. Azrak strode straight up to the doors and ordered them opened. He then dismissed the rest of her escort and took her by the arm, pushing her roughly towards the doors. Lily grimaced as the strong fingers gripped her upper arm, but was at least grateful that Azrak hadn't used his claws to hold her. They looked incredibly sharp, and Lily was certain that they would slice right through her skin if she was ever attacked by one of these aliens.

The golden doors closed behind them, and Lily quickly looked around the room she found herself in. Her eyes widened in surprise as she noticed the glittering ceiling and walls. Then, she saw the big windows that lined the edge of the room, and realised that she had seen this room from the outside when she had been led down the stairs into the alien city. It was then that she realised just how big this room actually was.

From the outside the tower it was located in had looked pretty big, but inside the room appeared even larger. It was at least a hundred and fifty metres across, and semi-circular in shape. Its ceiling was high and lofty, reminding her again of the old church her family restaurant had been built in. Arches framed the windows and also rose up until they reached a point directly above the centre of the room. Lily couldn't see what was up there, but she had an impression of a circular pattern of some kind. The whole room was somewhat reminiscent of the domes in the great cathedrals back on Earth.

Either the whole thing was some giant coincidence, or whoever had designed this place had visited Earth sometime in the distant past. However, despite a nagging similarity with Earth architecture, a serene quality existed in this room. It lacked the bustle of the other corridors, and it was empty and quiet. The glittering array of gem stones shone even in the dim light provided by the globes scattered about the room, and even the lightning Lily could see outside the tall windows didn't detract from the feeling of peace and serenity.

The vast room also had a different smell to the rest of the corridors and rooms she had seen while being led through the alien city. While the air in the other rooms had been tainted by a metallic sent, the air in this room carried the faint impression of a flowery perfume to the Major's nose. The scent reminded her of home, especially of the wild flowers that had grown in the fields near the small village in western Ohio where she had been bought up. For a brief moment she felt a little homesick, but that feeling quickly vanished as Azrak resumed dragging her across the room.

As she was led across the room, Lily became aware of something that hadn't been visible from the doors. In the very centre of the room was a dark throne, surrounded by four of the large crystal globes that passed for lights in this place. Lily could see that someone was sitting on the throne, but the being's features were almost completely lost in the shadows that seemed to gather around the throne. Only the rough, humanoid shape of the creature could be made out, that and the two fiery dark eyes that peered out at her.

Lily had the strangest feeling that the shadows around the throne weren't natural, and were somehow being generated by the creature sitting before her. However, before she had time to investigate this feeling, she was pushed to her knees by Azrak. The warrior then walked closer to the throne and bowed deeply. "I have bought the prisoner as asked, Mistress," he said, in a deeply reverent voice. "She did attempt to escape, but my warrior proved too much for her meagre skills."

Normally, Lily would have been insulted by the disparaging tone in Azrak's voice, but today her attention was focused elsewhere. As the alien warrior had bowed, Lily eyes had suddenly been drawn to the knife that hung from his belt. She had seen the huge sword hanging from the warrior's back, but she hadn't noticed the knife before as she been too busy trying to track her path through the alien city. Now though, it almost leapt out at her, opening up new possibilities. She knew that if she could get hold of that knife, then just maybe she might have a way out of here after all. The aliens had removed her manacles when they had taken her to her cell, so now all she had to do was reach out and the curved knife was hers.

Before she could make an attempt to snatch it though, Azrak stood up again and moved out of range. Lily was disappointed, but hid it well. Instead she stood and watched as a robed alien she hadn't noticed before stepped out from behind the throne and unfurled a long piece of yellow paper he had been clutching. At first glance, Lily thought that the paper was yellow with age, but then she noticed that it was the material it was made of, not its age, that gave the document its peculiar colour. The alien's eyes scanned the document and then, in a deep voice, he began to read. "What is your name?" As soon as he had said that, he looked expectantly up at Lily, as if waiting an answer.

Lily looked at him for a few seconds, watching as the alien grew nervous over her slowness in replying. Finally, just when the alien was about to ask the question again, she replied, "Major Lillian Logan." Then she smiled at him. "But, you can call me Lily if you like."

"I see," the alien said, before clearing his throat and moving down to the next question on the list.

Before he could ask it though, Lily spoke up again. "What is your name?" she asked.

"I am Morkazz, the first counsellor," was the slow reply. There was a note of pride in the alien's voice, and Lily realised that the position of first counsellor must be very high indeed among the alien hierarchy.   "Now, why are your people on this world."

"I do not have to answer that," Lily replied.

The warrior Azrak quickly moved closer, towering over Lily's much smaller frame. "This Mistress wishes to know," he told her. "You will answer the question at once." His face looked angry, as if the very thought of disobeying the Mistress was a most horrendous crime.

"I will not," she replied calmly, although inside she was a little afraid of what they would do to her if she continued to refuse to answer. She wasn't afraid of torture, but she had a responsibility to try and rescue the others that had been captured. She wasn't going to be able to do that if she was dead. However, despite her fears, she continued with her defiant tone. "I am a prisoner of war, and as such can not be forced to answer any questions against my will."

A fiery look of anger swept across Azrak's face and he stepped forward with a hand raised to slap her. Lily flinched, anticipating the General's strike, but it never came. Instead, a soft feminine voice pulled him up before he struck the Major. "Wait," was all it said. But, that was enough. The powerful warrior instantly halted the movement of his hand and pulled back from Lily, before bowing apologetically in the direction of the throne.

As soon as Azrak turned away from her, Lily immediately made her move. As quick as she could, she snatched the knife from the back of the warrior's belt and leapt across the small gap between her and the throne. Then she waved the sharp knife in the general direction of the shadowy figure on the throne and shouted out, "Get back, or I will stab your Mistress."

Lily wasn't exactly sure where on the throne exactly the Mistress was, for all she knew she could be aiming the knife above the alien's head, but the two male aliens stepped back. Azrak drew his large sword, but didn't look quite ready to use it, just in case Lily carried through with her threat. Lily moved closer to the throne and pressed the knife up against the edge of the Mistress' form. It slid in effortlessly, indicating that whatever sat on the throne, it wasn't as large as it shadowy outline suggested.

"Stay back," Lily warned again. "I don't want to hurt anyone, but if you don't get back I will."

The two males looked at each other, and slowly moved away. Neither looked like they were going too far though, the concern on their faces showing that they didn't want to abandon their ruler. Lily glared at them, just to make sure they knew she meant business, and then began to edge closer to the throne again, her eyes on the two aliens and her knife waving in front of their Mistress. The two aliens followed her, and edged closer again. Seeing their intentions, Lily glared at them again, and moved the knife even closer.

 

* * *

 

Despite the dangerous confrontation going on in front of her, Jeanne smiled beneath her shadowy disguise. With slow, cautious movements, her hand crept across the arm of the throne. Then, with a quick flick of her finger, she opened the tiny compartment that had been built into the throne the previous day. The lid slid open and a faint glow began to creep out, a glow she quickly covered by moving her hand over the compartment's mouth.

As the Major shouted again for her advisers to move back, Jeanne removed the phial from the clamps that held it, sliding it smoothly into her hand. Leaving the compartment open, she moved her hand away, careful to keep the phial completely hidden. While the shadows she created around her body kept her almost completely hidden from view, the light generated by the incredible amount of energy stored in just the one phial of elixir was enough to break through even the darkest night. She certainly didn't want the prisoner catching sight of it, so slipped it into a pocket of her robe, waiting until the Major's attention was focused elsewhere before trying to drink it.

In front of the throne, Major Logan was waving the dagger around with threatening movements, while Azrak and Morkazz looked helplessly at her, undecided about what to do when their Mistress was threatened. Jeanne chose not to speak again just yet. Instead she would wait and see what the prisoner wanted. Azrak had drawn one of his other weapons, the long bladed sword he kept slung over his shoulder, and was advancing in the threatening posture. Lily though, had seen him, and jabbed the knife closer. The knife that the Major was waving about was still a long way from her actual body, so there was no immediate threat. She could have told Azrak to just attack, but chose not to for the moment.

Instead, she sat back and watched as Lily threatened her. She could see that both of her advisers were distraught over the threat the Major provided, but didn't see anyway of telling them that she couldn't be harmed with a simple knife, without also alerting Lily of that fact. Jeanne was also looking for a chance to swallow a portion of the elixir. At the moment, her body was weak, but by consuming an addition half a dose or so of elixir she would temporally have enough energy to fight of any threat. It wouldn't last long, maybe only an hour, but that would be enough to defeat any danger that Lily could possibly offer.

So, instead of being concerned for herself, Jeanne was actually more worried that Lily would be injured. Her plans required that none of the human prisoners be killed. If any were injured or killed, then it would be more difficult to achieve her aims, not impossible, just more difficult. Looking over at Azrak, she said softly, "Wait outside, General."

Azrak didn't appear at all happy with that order and glared at Lily with murderous intent. "I can destroy this creature for you, Mistress," he snarled. "She will not be allowed to harm you." 

Lily didn't seem that impressed by his threats though, and just glared back at him, her stolen knife still held in a threatening position near Jeanne's brow. Of course, it wouldn't do a lot of damage even if she did strike. The Vorlon's had made many improvements to Jeanne during their experiments, and one of more significant had been the replacement of her entire skeleton with an organic metal. Her new bones were shaped exactly the same as the old ones, and behaved just like normal bone, but were almost completely invulnerable to physical attack. It would take a lot more strength than any human could muster before a knife like the one Lily held would even scratch Jeanne's skull.

At the moment though, Jeanne didn't think it would be wise to tell Lily that. Instead, she looked over at Azrak and smiled. Of course, the general couldn't see her expression any better than the Major could, but the confidence in her voice calmed him. "I can take care of the situation myself," she told him firmly. "There is no need to risk injury for me. Wait outside, I will call you when you are required."

The general still didn't look happy, but bowed and slowly sheathed his sword. Then, he backed away from the throne and headed for the door, although he made sure to stop several times and look back, just in case she had changed her mind. Eventually, he slipped through the huge golden doors. Jeanne knew that he would go quickly to raise the alarm, and probably within five minutes half the warriors in the city would be gathered outside the doors, all ready to take a piece out of the alien who had dared to threaten her. But, that would be a problem that she would deal with when it arose.

Beside her, Lily looked over at Morkazz and then turned back to the throne. "He goes as well," she demanded, pointing out the counsellor with her knife. Then, she quickly realised what she was doing and moved the knife back so it was pointing at Jeanne once more.

"He is just a counsellor," Jeanne said. "He is not a warrior, so there is no need for him to leave." Actually, Morkazz had been a warrior back before the injury that had left him lame in one leg, but like so many other facts, Jeanne didn't really think that the Major had to know that.

"I want him gone," Lily almost shouted, obviously becoming more than a little agitated by the whole situation.

"Then who will carry your demands to the others?" Jeanne asked her. "I assume that you do have demands, and this whole unfortunate episode is not some sort of greeting among your people. If so, then I have serious misjudged your intelligence."

Lily, who hadn't actually planned much further than holding Jeanne hostage, was a little dumbfounded by Jeanne's question. Finally she said, "Yes, of course I have demands." Making a quick decision, she turned to Morkazz. "I want my people released, and taken back to the surface," she told him. "Then, I want safe passage out of here as well. If you do all that, then your precious Mistress here won't be injured."

Morkazz turned to Jeanne with a quizzical expression on his face. "Mistress?" he asked.

"Go, Morkazz," she replied. "Make sure none enter for the next hour or so. I will take care of this situation, there is no need for you do worry."

Lily scowled at Jeanne. Actually, she scowled at a spot above Jeanne's head, but the intent was still there. "What do you mean by that," she demanded. "Tell him to carry out my demands."

Instead of replying, Jeanne just waved a hand in the general direction of the door. Morkazz took the hint, and after a quick bow he hurried away. A faint limp was beginning to reappear, but he was still a lot faster than Lily could have ever hoped to be. Surprisingly, she didn't chase after him, and instead just watched as the counsellor hurried through the door and shut them firmly behind himself.

As Lily watched the counsellor closing the throne room doors, Jeanne saw her opportunity. While the Major's eyes busy elsewhere, she quickly reaching the pocket of her robe and unstopped the phial of elixir. With equal urgency, she bought it to her lips and drank. She only took a brief swallow, barely even half of the liquid, but it was enough to make her shudder as energy flowed into tired limbs.

Lily though, saw the movement and, thinking Jeanne was pulling a weapon on her, lunged at the shadowy figure. Suddenly energised, Jeanne jumped to one side, just avoiding the Major as she tried to grab her. Lily had been expecting to find something solid to grab hold of, but when Jeanne moved, Lily kept on going, and there was nothing left to stop her forward movement. A brief touch of cold flesh against her outstretched fingers was all she felt, before the much less enjoyable collision with the solid throne.

However, not everything turned out as Jeanne had desired either. As she leapt out of Lily's way the hand holding the elixir struck the arm of the throne. It wasn't a painful blow, she rarely ever felt pain any more, but it was powerful enough to cause the hand to spring open, and the priceless crystal phial to fall. She quickly tried to grab it, but her hand couldn't move fast enough and the shadows she used to hide her appearance hindered her attempts to locate the falling phial as it tumbled towards the hard metal ground.

However, instead of striking the floor, the phial bounced off the much softer fleshy area just below her ankle and rolled away towards the throne. As soon as it moved away from her, out of the shadows and back into the dim light cast by the globes, Jeanne followed its passage. She noted with some relief that it didn't appear to have been damaged by the fall. The phials were made of a very delicate crystal, so they were prone to breaking. This time though, that hadn't happened, and the remaining elixir was still intact. The elixir itself was almost as delicate as the crystal and had to be stored at exactly the right temperature, as well as be shielded from all sources of radiation, or it would evaporate within a couple of hours. Jeanne thought about retrieving the phial and returning to the compartment in the throne. But, when she saw Lily stirring, she decided that it would survive for a little while longer where it lay.

 

* * *

 

Unaware of the presence of the phial, or the effects the elixir had on Jeanne, Lily pulled herself back to her feet. Her head still swimming following the collision with the throne, although no permanent damage had been done. With one hand on throne, and the other on her throbbing head, she turned around to see what had happened to her hostage. To Lily's surprise, the alien had moved only a short distance away, and was observing her with almost hidden eyes. 

Lily knew now that inside the shifting mass of wispy shadows was a much more solid creature. She had misjudged her previous lunge because she had been unable to see where the Mistress ended, and her shadowy cloak began. However, she had still felt a brief touch of something soft and fleshy as she had passed by, indicating that this alien wasn't a just a mass of shadow, but also something living and possibly even breathing.

Realising that she was still holding the knife she had taken from Azrak, Lily raised it once more and began to walk towards the shadowy alien, holding it in front of her like a shield. To her surprise the Mistress didn't seem to resist, and just stood their observing her as she raised the knife level with where she thought the its throat would be, assuming that it had a throat. As she slid her stolen knife slowly into the darkness, she felt it prick the alien's skin, and allowed herself a tiny smile of triumph that her guess had been correct.

"Don't move," Lily added, just to make her intentions entirely clear. "All I want to do is get out of here. So, if you stay still and calm, then I won't hurt you."

"I am already calm, Major Logan," the soft voice told her. "There is, after all, nothing you can do that can hurt me."

Lily shivered as the Mistress spoke, the alien's almost unnaturally calm voice sending a chill running down her spine. There was something about it that frightened her deeply. Perhaps it was the complete lack of fear, or maybe it was the feeling that the Mistress was telling the truth when she said that that Lily couldn't hurt her. 

Eager to change the subject, Lily asked, "do you have a name?" Then, before the alien woman could reply,  she added, "or do I have to call you Mistress all the time, like those fools that you have working for you."

"You may call me Jeanne," the shadowy figure answered. "And, I would ask you not to call my advisers fools. Please try to remember that you are a guest in my palace, and you live and die by my word alone. My advisers may be a little strange compared to what you are used to, but they are not fools."

"Jeanne?" Lily said, her voice echoing her surprise. She had missed most of what the Mistress had said, still in shock over her name. A strange suspicion was beginning to form in the back of her mind, one that was far more troubling than it was comforting. "That is a human name," she noted. "My mother was called Jeanne."

"Was she?" Jeanne said. "Well isn't that interesting, so was my aunt."

"I want to see you," Lily demanded, pressing the knife closer.

"But, aren't you already seeing me," Jeanne said with an amused tone creeping into her voice. Although she couldn't see Jeanne's expression, Lily had the unshakeable impression that she was being toyed with, much like a cat plays with a mouse before killing it.

"I mean the real you," Lily replied, trying not to get angry with the way she was being treated. She knew Jeanne was probably just trying to get her angry, to make her lose her temper. "I know this is just an illusion, and that beneath this darkness there is something else. I want to know what I dealing with."

"How do you know that what you see now before you isn't what I really am, Major Logan," was the swift reply. 

"Because my knife is currently pressed up against your skin," Lily replied, edging it closer to make her point. "I know you are under there somewhere. This darkness you gather around you is just a disguise. I want to see what you look like without it."

"Very well, Major," Jeanne replied, in a soft, almost sad voice. "You may see me. I just hope you are prepared to accept who and what I am."

Almost at once, the shadows began to fade and Lily found herself holding a knife to the forehead of a young Human girl, who appeared to be barely even out of her teens. "You... You're just a girl," Lily gasped, her voice quavering as the shock began to register in her mind. However, despite her shock, she still had the presence of mind to move the knife lower, so it was in a far more threatening position. Then, she examined the being in front of her with a more critical eye.

Jeanne's face and frame, gave the Lily the impression that she was looking at a thin, almost skeletal, teenage girl. Her eyes, as black as the deepest reaches of space, lacked life. Her skin appeared deathly pale, almost as if it were bloodless. Even Jeanne's long dark hair was dull and limp, completely lacking the shine of healthy hair. Her clothing also lacked lustre, consisting of a single dark coloured robe, which looked frayed and worn around the edges. All of this combined to remind Lily of someone who was very sick. Her mother had been much the same way before she died, it was as if she was just wasting away.

But, when Lily looked closer she saw a lot more. Certainly, the girl was thin, but she seemed to possess a wiry strength about her, almost like some dangerous beast who had gone several days without food. Her eyes might be tired looking, but there was also no fear there, or her stance. She just stood there and allowed Lily's eyes to sweep over her body, all the while with a faint look of amusement gracing her thin lips, as if she knew something the Major didn't.

Lily frowned, and scanned her gaze downward, passing over Jeanne's small breasts, and the rest of her thin body, before looking down at her bare feet. Jeanne's toenail's were dark like her hair, although they did not appear to be painted. Quickly Lily looked up, and saw that Jeanne's fingernails were the just same. Both sets of nails appeared to be made of a material other than the protein that made up Human nails and hair. Instead they appeared to be some sort of metal, a metal that gleamed even in the dim light. "Who the hell are you?" Lily asked suspiciously.

Just for a second Jeanne's eyes seemed to blaze with a inner fire, and then they returned to their normal calm blackness. When she spoke though, the girl's voice carried with it a strength that it hadn't possessed only moments earlier. "I am Jeanne," she said again, only this time a lot more haughtily. "I rule this world, and you are my prisoner. If you have any sense left in that thick skull of yours you will drop that weapon and surrender before I tear you apart. I do not like people threatening me in my own home."

Lily looked at Jeanne, and then her eyes narrowed. "I don't like being threatened either," she said, levelling the knife with the girl's throat again, and set her face into a steely expression. "You are going to show me the way out of here, or I am going to have to hurt you."

Jeanne looked down at the blade, which was resting just beneath her chin and, to Lily's surprise, she just smiled. Then, she looked up at Lily and caught the Major's eyes with her own. "I do not think so, Major Logan. I am not going anywhere. You are my prisoner, and I can not allow you to leave my home... at least not just yet. Do not think that you can escape either. Outside this room there are probably hundreds of warriors gathered by now, and if you hurt me, nothing will stop them from killing you. You might be strong, but you are not strong enough to force me to go with you if I refuse to leave. Without terror, you have nothing left to threaten me with, and believe me, I am not afraid of you."

Looking towards the golden doors at the far end of the throne room, Lily couldn't help but agree with Jeanne's words. She felt despondent as she realised that all she had achieved was a stand-off. She couldn't use Jeanne as a hostage if she refused to leave the throne room, and Lily doubted that she could force the girl to go with her. She didn't know what hold Jeanne had over the creatures of this world, but after seeing the way they had looked at their Mistress, Lily didn't doubt for a second that the alien warriors would kill her if she harmed even a single hair on Jeanne's head. A sinking feeling in her stomach, Lily slowly lowered the knife from Jeanne's throat.   

 

* * *

 

Ancient, decaying trees thrust grime-covered limbs out of the torpid waters of the swamp, reaching towards a sun that no longer shone in their world. Their gnarled trunks rose on grotesque, stilt-like roots that were home to an extraordinary variety of fungal life. In one place a cluster of luminescent violet toadstools sprang fan-like from a low-hanging branch. Ripples in the ebony water below made their reflections dance like a purple flame. While throughout the swamp, a profuse menagerie of insect life buzzed, whirred, and hummed in the air, or fluttered above the tranquil waters.

Into this corrupt wetland a single canoe suddenly appeared, sliding out of the miasmic fog that hung constantly over the swamplands. Its single occupant paddled cautiously through the algae choked waters, his eyes constantly darting from one side to the other, searching for any sign of possible danger. This particular section of the swamp was known to be home to several Júrm snakes, which could grow to as much as thirty metres in length and were more than capable of swallowing even the largest Ariasan warrior whole. Given the urgency of his mission, the scout certainly didn't want to stray into the hunting grounds of one of these fearsome creatures.

In ancient times, the Ariasans had hunted the creatures for sport, tracking them through shallow jungle waterways in rough dugout canoes. These dangerous hunts had often been used as a way of choosing a chieftain when there was no clear line of succession, with the warrior who obtained the first successful strike chosen as the new chief of the tribe, assuming that he survived of course. Over the past eight hundred years though, the Júrm hunts had slowly become less and less popular, and eventually stopping altogether just over a hundred years ago. With the Mistress ruling all of Arias, the warriors no longer saw the need to risk their lives for so little gain and they had turned to less deadly pursuits, such as training their fighting skills for the annual tourney.

While this had resulted in a steady decline in the death rate among the warrior population, it had also led to a sharp rise in the number of Júrm snakes. Following the Vorlon's bombardment of this world, the old rivers had vanished and now vast swamps covered almost a third of the Mistress' Domain, the Ariasan name for the region covered by the dark storm cloud. These new swamps were the perfect hunting grounds for the snakes and now that they were no longer being constantly pestered by Ariasan hunters, they had flourished. This made travel through the swamplands a risky affair at the best of times, while to try and make the journey alone in a small canoe could almost be considered suicide.

The scout knew this, but he also knew that the Mistress must be warned of the alien's intentions. So he kept his spear and sword close, gripped his paddle tightly, and tried to traverse the swamp as quietly and quickly as possible. Júrm snakes hunted by sensing vibrations and ripples in the water. So still were the waters of the swamp, that a stone dropped from chest height could create ripples that resonated for hundreds of metres. The smooth surfaces of the paddle slid smoothly through the water, raising barely a ripple, but the scout knew that a single careless stroke could awaken one the fearsome predators.

So far though, he had been lucky and the journey was proceeding without incident. Fortunately, the closer he got to the fortress the less likely it was that a Júrm snake would be encountered. The warriors may no longer hunt the creatures on a regular basis, but they certainly weren't going to allow them to move in next door. That wasn't a lot of comfort to the nervous scout though. He still had a long way to travel before he reached the areas covered by the outer patrols. Part of being a scout was learning to survive in the wilderness for weeks at a time, but right now he would have gladly been reduced in rank to a servant if it meant he didn't travel this swamp again. Gripping his paddle even tighter, the scout turned as his concentration to trying to make as little splash as possible.

As the canoe passed a small rocky island dotted with unusually tall fungi and several broken trunks from ancient jungle trees, a gigantic snake-like creature slowly raised its head to observe the scout's passage. Massive even for a Júrm snake, this ancient and cunning creature had lived in this swamp for nearly five hundred years. During that time it had eaten almost every type creature in the swamp, and had even ventured onto drier land to hunt down a particularly tasty looking morsel. It has also had several encounters with Ariasan warriors, and during these short battles had learned two things about them. 

The first was that they didn't really taste very nice, at least not compared to some of the other creatures that dwelled in the swamp. Their skin was leathery, their flesh tough and totally lacking in flavour. The second thing the old snake had discovered was that they fought back. Many times in the past, it had been wounded by the warrior's sharp weapons and the dark scars covering its pale vermilion scales bore testament to the fighting spirit of an Ariasan warrior. Even the dim intellect of a Júrm snake eventually got the message and this particular snake had learned its painful lesson many years ago.

So, instead of hunting this particular prey, the snake settled its head back down on the mossy rock that served as a pillow and went back to its digesting yesterdays meal of Guni beetle. The spiny beetle's flesh might have been nearly as inedible as the scout's, but at least it didn't fight back. Curling its massive, sinuous body around a large tree, the snake was soon dozing comfortably, no longer interested in the small titbit of food that had just passed by its island.

Thirty minutes later though, the creature's head suddenly whipped up, its sensory organs tingling wildly as a new kind of prey came into range of its sensors. Tiny tentacles that the snake had resting in the water felt it first, the ripples of its passage created visible to even the most dim-witted predator. Feathery antennae along the snake's wide, triangular head were next to sense the approaching creature. Designed to distinguish between the individual scents of prey animals, the antennae were almost vibrating for joy as they picked up the scent of several distinct creatures, all travelling together. Unlike the almost invisible smell given out by the Ariasans these new beings were virtually shouting their presence across the swamp. 

The snake considered the approaching creatures for a moment, before curiosity and hunger got the better of it. Uncurling itself from around its tree, the snake slipped smoothly into the  tranquil waters of the swamp. A full thirty metres of armour-plated body followed quickly after, until almost all of the creature was submerged and only its head was visible. All along its underbelly, tiny webbed feet extended and began to paddle at the water. Although it was called a snake by the Ariasans, it was actually an unholy cross between a snake, and a centipede. It combined the best elements of both creatures and the result was the almost perfect waterborne predator. Right now that predator was winding its way through the dark waters towards the appetising scent of its next meal.

Deeper in the swamp, completely unaware that they were now being hunted by this world's most fearsome predator, the occupants of a small open-topped hovercraft were scanning the swamp for any signs of dry land. At the rear of the small inflatable craft, Sergeant Ernest "Mad Dog" Drake kept one steady hand on the hovercraft's controls, while the other tapped rhythmically on his leg.

So far they had made pretty good time since leaving the small island where the Sturt was currently residing. Travelling by hovercraft was certainly a lot quicker than it would have been if the rescue party had been compelled to walk the last ten kilometres. He had been forced to keep the speed a lot lower than normal, due to the hidden perils of submerged rocks, but they had still made very good time. If things continued this way, then they would be at their destination inside an hour.

With a contented sigh, Drake leaned back against the soft, rubbery material of the inflatable hovercraft and began to enjoy the scenery, at least the small amount of scenery he could actually see in the dim twilight that was midday on Arias. The gentle rhythm of the water lapping against the hull, and even the constant, steady roar of the engines behind him, was strangely comforting. It bought back memories of happier times, before all the wars and fighting of his military career had taken him away from Earth and his family.

Inside the hovercraft, crowded into its three rows of seating, were the rest of the rescue team that was being sent to find Major Logan's team and hopefully the missing crewmen from the Sturt as well. Sitting high on the bow were two marines, their PPG rifles held at the ready. They were currently sharing the contents of a small hip flask, probably alcohol of some kind. Drake had considered reprimanding them, but decided that it wouldn't be worth breaking the peaceful calm that had settled across the craft.

Behind them, another three soldiers crouched down among the pile of packs and other necessary equipment. One of the three was asleep, his shoulder resting on Dr. Melis' overstuffed pack, while the other two were cleaning their weapons. Drake's gaze quickly passed over them and came to rest on the middle seat. There, Susan and Talia were sitting, along with their packs and Susan's rifle, carrying out a low conversation. Noticing Drake watching her, Susan twisted around to face him and asked, "is everything OK, Sergeant."

"Yes, Ma'am," Drake replied, while quickly moving his gaze to the last of the hovercraft's seats. There, squashed between the bulky presence of the two largest marines under Drake's command, was the thin frame of Dr. Jack Melis. Drake smiled, silently agreeing with Susan's solution to the doctor's tendency to try and involve himself in every little aspect of the mission. Stuck where he was, there was little chance he could get into any trouble, let alone move.

Finishing his quick inspection of the hovercraft's passengers, Drake turned to the last of his soldiers, currently perched on the edge of the raft, right next to the sergeant. "How is our position," he inquired.

Corporal Cooper looked down at the hand-held navigation console and quickly tapped in a few commands. "Looking good, Sarge. If we keep going straight like this, then we should hit the target area in a little over nineteen clicks. That is assuming we don't reach solid ground first of course."

Drake nodded, then went back to watching the scenery pass slowly by. Several ghost-like trees, hung with stands of glistening slime, appeared in front of the hovercraft, glowing in the light cast by the bow-mounted spotlight. Turning to avoid them, Drake guided the hovercraft into a narrow passage between two small islands. The water thrown up in their wake forced several large spiny insects to scurry towards higher ground. Then the islands slipped away behind them, and the hovercraft headed out into what looked like deeper water.

Suddenly, the hovercraft shuddered, almost as if it had just hit a hidden rock or branch. However, the inflatable craft still continued on, seemingly not that effected by whatever it had just struck. "What the hell..." Drake began to say, before his gaze fell on the cause of the disturbance. 

Swimming alongside the hovercraft, somehow keeping up with the swift pace Drake was setting, was a gigantic snake-like creature. In the dim light of the swamp it appeared almost invisible, but every time it moved into the light from the hovercraft, the Sergeant caught a glimpse of bright scarlet scales and hundreds of scurrying flipper-like feet. As he watched its quick dark-like movements, the creature suddenly swept beneath the hovercraft again, and with a quick flick of its powerful tail, lifted the inflatable boat out of the water and tossed it a short distance away. 

The hovercraft landed with a shuddering crash, men and equipment flying everywhere. The two marines sitting in the front of the boat were thrown free, landing with a splash in the black waters of the swamp. The rest of the passengers were able to remain inside the inflatable, although a lot of their equipment went overboard. The first to recover from the impact, Drake looked back just in time to see the creature swimming straight towards him at incredible speed. He quickly reached for the throttle, but when he twisted it, the twin engines cut out all together.

Coming to the conclusion that the bump must have knocked them out somehow, Drake abandoned the engines and reached for his pistol. He would have preferred to use his rifle, but that had been lost overboard along with a lot of the other equipment. Levelling the weapon at the oncoming creature, he pulled the trigger and squeezed off several ineffective rounds, before the snake smashed into the hovercraft again and he toppled overboard.

Such was the force of the blow the creature dealt the hovercraft that much of the inflatable craft was driven underwater, and only by holding on for dear life was anyone able to remain inside. Sitting on the opposite side to where the snake struck, Susan quickly found herself under the freezing water, lost in a world of chilling darkness. She quickly swam back to the surface, only to find that the hovercraft was now nearly ten metres away. It was upright again and the snake circling it, while Talia and one of the marines tried to fight it off by throwing bags and other loose objects at it.

Ignoring the bodies thrashing around in the water for the moment, the gigantic snake let out a bone-chilling screech and reared up above the hovercraft, it massive jaws opening in preparation to strike. Directly in its path, Talia didn't even have time to scream. However, she had time to think and in a moment of self-preservation she drew on every scrap of telekinetic power she could muster and tired to stop the snake's large triangular head from attacking.

Fortunately, pure terror was a great motivator and her desperate gamble worked. The snake's head suddenly pulled up short, undulating just in front of Talia's face. Her eyes may have been bright with fear, but her face was a mask of concentration as she used all her strength to stop the fanged mouth from moving. Beads of sweat began to form on her forehead as the mental toll her effort was taking began to show.

The snake, for its part, appeared confused. Even on the best of days a Júrm snake could not be considered one of Arias' great intellects. It relied mainly on instinct and a considerable amount of raw cunning. However, none of these assets helped it in this situation. Its mind kept sending the signals for the head to attack, but for some reason the head refused to obey. All its senses still showed its prey right in front of it, but the force gripping its head refused to allow it any closer.

The rest of its body, however, was still free to move. From the other side of the hovercraft, the creature's thick tail leapt out of the water, and began to wrap itself around the small craft. Along its underbelly, a line of tiny webbed claws opened and closed, and as soon as the tail touched the hovercraft, these claws dug into the inflatable material. There was a hiss of escaping air, but for the moment the craft still remained afloat.

Recognising the predicament that Talia was in, Susan searched her mind for something to help. She thought about trying to contact the creature telepathically, but when she opened her mind all she felt was a immense wave of rage that almost knocked her senseless. As she reeled back in pain though, a solution presented itself. By some miracle, she had landed almost right on top of one of the PPG rifles, which, thanks to air trapped inside, as well as the algae choked water, floated just below the surface.

Remembering that the rifles were not only waterproof, but also designed to function in almost any environment, Susan lunged for it. Sweeping it out of the water, she raised the weapon until it was level with the creatures head. Then she took aim and carefully squeezed the trigger. By an amazing stroke of good luck, the first plasma bolt sliced straight through the snake's two feather antennae. That didn't stop it, but it did slow it down. Without a sense of smell, it was forced to rely on its other senses. Being completely blind, that left it with touch and hearing. 

Its feeling tentacles, currently just dipped in the water, were quickly confused by the number of creatures around it. Without a sense of smell to determine one from the other, the snake quickly became confused. For a few brief seconds it paused in its attack, trying to reorient itself and relocate its prey. That proved to be all the time its prey needed.

Susan quickly squeezed off another few shots, most of them ricocheting of the diamond-hard scales of the snake, but a couple getting through. She was quickly joined by Corporal Cooper and the two other marines who had managed to keep hold of their rifles. Streaks of red plasma lit up the swamp for several seconds, and when Susan finally called a halt, the snake's head was little more than a charred hunk of meat.

The raised head hung in the air for a second, before collapsing into the water. There was a brief hissing as the burning flesh slid into the water, but then everything went quiet. The snake's body gave one last nervous twitch before going limp. The only soldier still in the hovercraft quickly hurried to push the thick, scaled tail overboard, while Talia let out a sigh of relief and slumped back against Susan's pack.  Slinging the rifle over her shoulder, Susan quickly swam the short distance across the hovercraft and clambered aboard. Talia smiled weakly at her, and then went back to massaging her temples. "Are you all right?" Susan asked, looking worried.

"Just a headache," Talia informed her. "Holding something that powerful took a lot of effort."

"I'll get you a pain killer," Susan said, glancing around the soggy interior of the hovercraft. "At least I will as soon as I find out what happened to the medkit."

"It probably went overboard with the rest," Drake suggested as he hauled his large frame out of the dank swamp and into the hovercraft. "Almost everything is watertight, so it shouldn't be too much trouble picking everything up." He looked down at the deflated sections of the hovercraft. "I think it might be a good idea to fix these hole first though," he said, bending down to examined the damaged section.

"We aren't going to sink are we?" Talia asked, forgetting about her headache for the moment.

Drake stroked his chin thoughtfully, before replying. "I don't think so. The hull is partitioned into about a hundred different sections, and only a few seem to be damaged. I will have someone slap a patch on those holes and then it should be as good as new."

"As long as no more of those things turn up," Susan muttered, helping two marines shove the last of the snake into the water. It splashed into the dark water, throwing even more water into the already soaked hovercraft, and then quickly vanished beneath the dark surface.

Drake glanced nervously around the swamp. "I will set some guards," he said, reaching down to help Dr. Melis out of the water.

The doctor looked a little like a drowned rat, his expensive clothes little more than water soaked rags. However, despite what he had just been subjected to, Melis still had an excited gleam in his eye. "What an amazing creature," he said admiringly. "Did you see how well adapted to its environment it was. I know some colleagues that would sell their own mothers to study something like that."

"It just tried to kill us, Doctor," Susan reminded him.

"Yes, but it was only obeying its instincts," Melis argued. "You can't blame it for that. To think, it must have evolved here for millions of years to reach that sort of level of perfection."

"Do you think it could have been what caused the disappearances in the Sturt's crew," Talia asked suddenly.

"I certainly hope not," Susan replied, shuddering at the very idea.

"I don't think it is likely," Melis said. "Even something that big wouldn't have been able to eat that many people. It also probably has a very defined territory. In fact, there may only be one in every hundred square kilometres. So it is unlikely that there were more than one of them. If there were, then the ecology of the region wouldn't be able to support them." He glanced around at the swamp. "I doubt there is enough game around here to keep a large number of predators of that size alive. It chould have been the only one in this entire swamp."

Drake cleared his throat and spat into the water. "I certainly hope so," he said darkly. "I don't want to see one of those things ever again."

"How can you say that," Melis said, sounding hurt. "It was a beautiful beast. I would like to capture one and take it back to Earth. It would be an amazing creature to study."

"You will have to capture it alone," Drake told him. "There is no way I am going to throw the lives of my men away helping you snare one of those beasts. We are marines, not big game hunters. If you want to go around collecting giant snakes then I would try hiring Colonel Lloyd."

Melis looked a little annoyed at the mention of the famous hunter from the Vega colony. "I hardly think some vid star is going to be much use," he said. 

"You won't get anyone else willing to risk their lives."

"But think of the rewards," Melis implored him. "I can think of a lot of zoos that would pay considerable amounts of money for an exotic creature such as this. And then there is always the vid rights for an expedition, they could run into the millions."

Fortunately, one of the marines choose that moment to arrive bearing the medkit, which Susan quickly commandeered. Turning away from the still arguing pair, she passed Talia a pain killer and a flask of water from her pack, then picked up a strip of soft cloth from the medikit. Taking the flask back from Talia, Susan wet the cloth and proceeded to wipe several specks of purple blood that had landed on the blonde telepath's face.  <I'm so glad you are all right,> Susan sent telepathically, ignoring for the moment the argument that was continuing between Drake and Melis.

<So am I, > Talia responded, gently stroking Susan's mind with a tender mental caress.

Susan lifted her hand to cup Talia's cheek, intensifying their contact. For nearly a minute they just sat there, staring into each others eyes, while their minds communicated their feelings of relief at surviving the attack. Then, a finger tapped Susan on the shoulder. Annoyed, mostly at herself for allowing personal feelings to manifest themselves when she should have been concentrating on the situation at hand, Susan spun around to glare at Dr. Melis. "What is it," she demanded irritably.

"Can I have that," he asked earnestly, pointing to the small square of white cloth she had used to wipe the snake's blood off Talia's face.

Susan glanced down at the purple stained cloth. "What do you want it for," she asked.

"A genetic sample," he replied. "It might be possible to grow a clone from the blood on that cloth, but if it isn't then it will still provide some good research material. I would have like to have taken a closer look at the carcass, but I don't really want to go searching around in that water for it."

"I don't blame you," Susan agreed, handing him the cloth. For a moment she had considered tossing it overboard, but realised that it was very unlikely that a clone could be grown from the genetic material in the creature's blood. Cloning usually required taking a sample directly from the living creature, and the blood cells on the cloth should already be beginning to die.

"Thank you, Captain," Melis replied, slipping the cloth into a sterile sampling jar that he pulled from his pack.

Susan had already forgotten about him, shuffling over to where Drake was working on the holes in the inflatable hull. "How long is it going to take to repair," she asked.

Drake pressed an auto-seal patch down on the tear the snake's tiny claws and opened and watched as the sealant began to fill the gap cause by the tear. "I would estimate about twenty minutes, Captain," he replied. She nodded, and went to help the marines search the swamp for the equipment from the hovercraft.

It took nearly forty minutes to locate and retrieve all the equipment that had been thrown overboard during the snake's attack. The ferocity of that attack had left items scattered across a wide area, and with fog pressing down on them again, finding the equipment took some time. Fortunately, only a few items had been lost. The thick soup that passed for water in the swamp provided a lot of buoyancy, and most things just floated on the surface. Also just as fortunate, was the complete lack of injury. All of those tossed into the water, had been thrown well clear and escaped injury. In fact, the worst anyone suffered was a graze caused while tossing the snake's body overboard. 

With all the equipment and supplies finally repacked, the hovercraft continued slowly on its way. This time though, the marines at the bow were a lot more alert, constantly scanning the surrounding water with nervous eyes. The thought of another giant snake leaping out of the water at them, was enough to make even the slackest soldier concentrate on their duty. No more giant snakes presented themselves for the remainder of the journey though, but several floating logs suffered severe PPG burns.

As the vibrations left by the hovercraft's passage died down, there was a sudden explosion of movement in the water behind them. Although grievously wounded, the snake was still very much alive, although it wasn't about to try and take on a hovercraft full of armed marines again in a hurry. It swam away, heading back to it lair to rest and recuperate. Unlike most creatures, its brain was not located in its head, but rather lower down in its neck. So the wound it had suffered was not mortal, and after several days the head would regenerate and when it did the snake would be sure to take a little bit more care in picking its prey in the future. Compared to humans, even Ariasans looked appetising.

 

* * *

 

While Susan and the rest of her party were fighting for their lives against the giant Júrm snake, Major Logan was facing an equally dangerous opponent of her own. Her original plan had been so much simpler - kidnap the alien queen, then use her as a hostage to get the rest of the aliens to release the prisoners. Unfortunately, not only did the hostage refuse to cooperate, but the alien queen turned out to be little more than a sickly teenage girl, albeit with rather strange fingernails .

Slumping back against the solid presence of the throne, Lily lowered the knife. "Why are you doing this?" she asked, looking up at the dark-haired girl who had, until moment before, been her hostage. "You are human, just like me. Why are you keeping us captive."

"I need to study something," Jeanne explained. "It is very important to me. But, when I am finished, you may leave and return to your home. Now, put down that knife and return quietly to your cell. I will ensure that you are not harmed in any way. There is no need for this... incident to result in violence."

"Or I could just slit your throat right here," Lily snapped, growing angry with the condescending tone in Jeanne's voice.

Jeanne just smiled at her. "I have already told you that you can not hurt me," she reminded Lily. "If you try you will only end up getting hurt yourself. While I can not be injured, you most certainly can. Don't throw your life away like this for no reason, you are worth so much more than that. Put down the knife and live to fight another day. There will be other battles for you to win, just accept that this is one that you must lose."

"I don't lose," Lily growled. 

"Everyone has to lose some time, Major Logan," Jeanne replied sadly. "Even me."

"I don't," Lily repeated again. "I don't give up, especially not to someone as young as you."

A sudden fiery gleam came into Jeanne's eyes. It didn't last long, but Lily had the distinct impression that dark-haired girl was more than a little angry with her comment. When Jeanne spoke again though, her soft voice remained calm and carried no trace of anger, or any other emotion. "Do not judge me by my appearance," she told Lily. "I am older than I look. A lot older."

"If you say so," Lily said, still not sounding entirely convinced.

Jeanne raised one delicate eyebrow and looked at Lily with a faintly quizzical expression. Then she smiled again, and waved her hand in a sweeping motion around the room. "See those windows, Major," she said, indicating each of the fragile crystal panes in turn. "They are monuments to the greatest heroes of this world." She pointed out one at random, a window on the right side of the throne room with the image of a tall alien warrior with some sort of long tube-like device clutched in his claws. "That is Tiazan, the archer. He destroyed a warship belonging to my greatest enemies with a single shot. Its remains are still out in the swamp somewhere if you would like to go and look." She pointed to another, this time a slimmer, more feminine alien. "Giaj, the crafter. She designed the first of the collection towers. It was she who made this city possible. Before then the people of this world were doomed to live beneath the ground, as close as possible to the warmth at the centre of the planet."

With a thoughtful frown on her face, Lily looked at the windows. She hadn't really taken the time to look at them closely since she had entered the throne room. When she had first spotted them on the top of the stairs leading down into the crater, she had thought they were made of glass. Now that she had seen them up close though, she could see that they appeared to be made of some kind of crystal, not individual pieces of coloured glass. Each window was also lit by a small light globe, which was probably what made them visible from the outside. Inside, the effect was dramatically weakened, but they were still impressive nonetheless.

Lily wasn't about to let Jeanne know how impressed she was though. Instead, she dismissed her wonder and said, "Is there some point to this history lesson. I have never really one for art galleries, probably because I got taken to so many when I was a child."

Jeanne nodded slowly, not really listening to what Lily was saying. "Each of these windows shows an important figure from the past three hundred years of this world's this world history and I have ruled here during the lives of all of those depicted here. It was I who ordered that these windows to first be constructed. They were mainly to honour the achievement of Tiazan, but since then I have had a new window added to honour every major achievement the people of this world have made."

"You don't look three hundred years old," Lily pointed out.

"Looks can be deceiving, Major Logan, as I have already pointed out to you. I am... condemned to live with this body for eternity, but inside my soul is old and tired. I have seen and experienced things that you wouldn't believe. I have learned to speak in languages now dead to this universe, and have even outlived those who imprisoned me here."

"The Vorlons," Lily said, realising suddenly who it was that Jeanne was talking about.

Jeanne exploded. Wheeling on Lily, she lashed out with a backhand that sent the unprepared marine flying. "Never mention their names," Jeanne screeched at her. "They are evil deceivers. I was only a girl, I didn't know any better. They said they needed my help to fight demons. I didn't know what they were really like, I thought they were angels." Her voice suddenly grew softer, and a lot sadder. "But, there are no angels... not for me anyway."

Lily wiped the thin trail blood off her lip and pulled herself back to her feet. She moved her jaw experimentally, but found to her amazement that it wasn't broken. The power behind Jeanne's blow both amazed and frightened her. She glanced over to where she had last seen the girl, but before she could even finish turning, she found herself lifted off her feet. Jeanne may have only been around the same size as Lily, but she was considerably stronger. 

Grasping the front of Lily's uniform, and lifting her into the air with an arm that shook only slightly, Jeanne waved her other hand into front of the Major's face. "You see my fingernails," she raved. "Do you know how they came to be this way." When Lily shook her head, she calmed down a little, although her voice still sent a chill running down the Major's spine. "They aren't like your fingernails, they are part of the bones in my fingers. The Vorlon's sliced me open and took out my bones, one by one, then they replaced them with this... metal. It was a very painful experience, and that was just one of the things they did to me."

"I didn't know," Lily said, trying to remain calm despite being held several centimetres off the ground.

Just then, a loud knocking sound echoed through the throne room, interrupting Jeanne's anger. She carefully lowered Lily to the ground and walked across to the throne. There, she pressed a button on the right arm of the throne. A voice quickly answered her summons. "Yes, Mistress?," it inquired.

Ignoring Lily's presence for the moment, she replied, "Morkazz, make sure that none of the warriors enter the throne room until I permit it. If they argue, remind them that I can take care of myself, and need no assistance at this time."

"Yes, Mistress," the counsellor repeated again.

While the short conversation had been taking place, Lily quickly scanned around the room, searching for something that might be of some assistance for an escape attempt. Jeanne was beginning to scare her, and while the tough marine normally wouldn't admit being frightened of anything, there was something about this short, waif-like girl that terrified her. She had just about given up hope of finding anything useful in the barren throne room, when her eyes fell on a familiar and very welcome sight.

Resting up against the side of the throne, almost invisible in the dim light, was the blunt shape of a PPG rifle, her own to be exact. Carefully sliding her stolen knife into her belt, Lily crept across the short distance between her and the gun. Then, with Jeanne still occupied with the communicator mounted on the throne, she snatched up the weapon and leapt back, levelling it at her captor.

Tapping a control on the throne's arm to shut off the communicate, Jeanne noticed what Lily was doing and looked calmly over at her. "I hope you do not think that you can threaten me with that device, Major Logan," she said scornfully. "That is not a real weapon."

"It will seem real enough if I pull this trigger," Lily replied, annoyed at the dark-haired girl's disparaging comment about her beloved rifle.

A slight frown marred Jeanne's face for a second, before she walked around the throne and picked up a scabbard and sword that was suspended from leather strap hung around one corner of the throne. Lily stared at the sword in shock, wondering how she could have missed the weapon hanging there. True, her attention had been focused on Jeanne for most of the time, but she shouldn't have missed something as large as a sword.

With a quick movement, Jeanne drew the sword and held out its silvery blade for Lily to examine. "This is a real weapon," she told the marine. "Devices like your gun are not weapons, they are just machines used for killing. Guns are weapons for soldiers, while this sword is a weapon for a warrior."

The sword she held out in front of Lily was plain, almost dull in appearance. It lacked any decorative scrolling or gems, like the one Lily had always seen the heroes carrying in the vids, but made up for that though, with its metre and half and razor sharp metal. Lily wasn't sure what metal it was constructed of, but unlike almost everything else in this place, it looked more like something that you find on Earth. Most of the palace and the city below was constructed of the same yellow-green organic metal, but this sword appeared to be made of steel, or maybe something very similar. Whatever it was, it looked incredibly sharp, and Lily took a step back just to feel a little more comfortable.

"I don't see the difference," Lily replied, after finishing her examination of the blade. "They both kill people."

Jeanne sighed in frustration. "Anyone can be a soldier," she explained. "All you need to know is how to point a gun in the right direction. Then, you pull the trigger and hope it hits your enemy. If you hit your enemy most of the time, then you are a good soldier. If you miss, then you are dead. That is all there is to being a soldier, but there is a lot more to being a warrior."

She lowered the sword until the tip of the blade rested on the floor. "There is something... impersonal about a gun. You point it and pull the trigger, but you never really feel what your enemy is suffering. With a blade, you feel it enter your enemies flesh, you know what it is doing to them. Then, when they die, you see the light go out in their eyes and you know that you have ended another person's life. With a gun there is not this connection."

"I would still rather have my rifle in a battle," Lily told her. "Someone with a sword wouldn't last a minute in a fire fight."

Jeanne smiled dangerously. "Care to test that theory," she asked, giving the thin blade a quick swish through the air.

"You're crazy," Lily told her, stepping back again, while at the same time levelling her rifle with Jeanne's chest, just in case."

In response Jeanne leapt forward and swung the sword toward the Major, who ducked just in time. The blade sliced through the air just above Lily's head, and as Lily rolled out of the way, several severed hairs floated slowly down to the ground, testament to just how close the sword had come to cutting Lily's head off her shoulders. "Are you still so sure of your weapon," Jeanne asked the pale looking Lily.

Lily responded by pointing the rifle in Jeanne's direction and ordering her to lower her weapon. "If you don't put it down, I will fire," she warned. Jeanne didn't seem to be taking any notice of her though, and stepped forward with her sword ready. "Don't move," Lily shouted. "I will fire." Jeanne raised the sword again, and was about to bring it down, when Lily fired. It wasn't a conscious action, just done in a moment of self-preservation. She immediately regretted it, but by then it was too late.

F ive bolts of superheated plasma smashed into Jeanne's thin body, two on her left arm, one just below her chin, and the other two right into the centre of her stomach. However, instead of slicing into her body and leaving deep craters of burning flesh, all the bolts of energy seemed to do was cause the bare skin to change from a pale white to a dark, almost black colour. That change didn't last long either, as the effected skin soon returned to its normal state, leaving behind a slight pinkish flush as the only sign that Jeanne had even been hit at all.

Despite showing no visible injury, Jeanne still staggered back a step, before steadying herself and looking down at the spots where the bolts had struck. Her worn robes were burning in two places where the plasma bolts had struck her stomach, so she quickly patted at the flames with her hand to put them out. Then, Jeanne looked up at Lily, her dark eyes narrowing in anger. Raising her sword, she lashed out at the Major, the razor sharp blade humming softly as it sliced through the air. Lily leapt backward, but Jeanne was not aiming for her, Instead the blade slashed down towards the weapon in Lily's hands.

There was a loud screech as metal struck metal, and then the sword sliced almost halfway through the barrel of the PPG weapon, instantly rendering it completely useless. Disgusted, Lily threw the now unusable rifle away and pulled out her stolen knife, as Jeanne danced out of reach again. "Now you see the use of a blade," Jeanne said softly, pointing her sword towards the knife in Lily's hands. "It doesn't break quite as easily as a gun."

Scowling in anger, Lily drew back her blade and tossed it with all the strength and accuracy she could muster. It was a testament to her skill that the curved blade flew straight at all, let alone hit its target. Of course, it didn't hit exactly where Lily wanted. She had been aiming for Jeanne's shoulder, hoping to disable her sword arm, and instead it lodged between the bones of her forearm.

There was a loud clatter as the sword fell from Jeanne's hand. Lily thought about grabbing it, but Jeanne promptly dropped her foot on it, and slid it back behind her, taking it out of Lily's reach. Then, she glanced over at Lily with a half smile of amusement. Still keeping her gaze locked with Lily's she bought her arm up before her to examine the wound, and also so the Major could see what she was doing. Then, with the smile widening, she grasped the hilt of the knife and drew it swiftly from her arm. Lily couldn't help but shiver at the grating noise, caused by metal scraping against bone, the blade made as it was withdrawn from the wound. Jeanne though, didn't even grimace, as if she felt no pain from the deep wound.

Two tiny drops of glowing white blood slipped from the blade and dropped slowly towards the floor. Fascinated by the sight, Lily's eyes followed them down until the splashed onto the metal floor. On contact with the organic metal, the blood began to sizzle, almost like acid would against more normal metals. Two small wisps of smoke rose from the floor, and when they cleared the blood had vanished, appearing to have completely evaporated.

"I said you could not hurt me, Major Logan," Jeanne said softly, drawing Lily's attention from the floor back up to Jeanne's face.

Seeing that she had the Major's attention, Jeanne held out her arm from Lily to examine. As first Lily didn't see what she was supposed to be looking for, but then she noticed that the deep wound appeared to be closing before her very eyes. One second there was a deep wound, edged with streaks of glowing blood, and the next the wound was almost gone. Jeanne closed her eyes and seemed to concentrate and the wound faded even further, until, finally, it disappeared altogether. Even the blood faded away, as if was being reabsorbed through the pores in Jeanne's skin.

"How did you do that?" Lily demanded.

Jeanne looked down at her arm, and then glanced up at ceiling of the room. "They did it to me, it was perhaps their biggest mistake. They tried to make me the ultimate warrior, designed to kill their ancient enemies without risking their own lives. They wanted me to become the guardian of light, so they made my survival dependent on the existence of light and energy. Wherever there is heat or light, I can survive, but it is the dark and cold places that I can not exist in. Which is rather curious really, as their enemies exist in these dark places, not of the warmer worlds."

"But, if you are a creature of light, why do you hide in shadows all the time?" Lily asked, sounding a little confused.

"It is how I absorb energy," Jeanne replied, holding up her now completely heal hand to demonstrate. As Lily watched, the skin of the hand darkened to become almost coal black in colour. Then, the space around Jeanne's hand also began to darken. It was already dim, due to the small number of lights in the throne room, but now the dull light faded away into shadow. 

"If there is light, heat, or other energy, then I can absorb it in this way." Jeanne said, allowing her hand to return to a more normal pale shade. "They changed me somehow. It took a long time, and at first I was still eating like normal. But, after about ten years of treatments, I found that I could absorb energy through my skin. Now, I can walk into a blazing inferno and still come out alive. However, it is taxing to maintain."

"Why?" Lily asked.

"What would happen if you opened and closed your mouth, but put no food in?" Jeanne asked. As soon as a look of understanding washed over Lily's face, Jeanne motioned towards the nearest light globe, sitting quietly on its metal tripod. "These globes provide some light, but it is not enough to replace the energy I am expending to absorb their light."

"Why bother then?"

Jeanne leaned against the nearby throne and thought back to the moment of her first encounter with the natives of Arias. "It is difficult to explain," she told Lily. "I was a lot younger when I first arrived here, older than you are now, but still so very young. I was afraid, the Vorlon attack had left me too weak to fight and I thought the creatures I encountered on this world would kill me. So I did the only thing I could do and hid myself in shadow. That way, I was able to convince them that I was a lot more powerful that I really was. They became my followers, and in return I taught them the secrets of technology."

"I am surprised you didn't set yourself up as a god."

Jeanne's dark eyes flashed angrily, although her voice remained as calm and controlled as always. "I do not ask for worship," she said coldly. "I am no goddess, but I am the key to this world's survival. Without me, then the society of peaceful coexistence that I have created here would collapse, just like an arch would if you removed its keystone The beings of this world need me to provide stability and peace. Before my arrival they warred amongst themselves, but now they work for one cause."

"Your cause," Lily pointed out. "They are little more than slaves to your desire."

Jeanne nearly choked over her laughter, while Lily looked on in astonishment. "You think they are slaves?" Jeanne said bitterly. "I have spent the past eight hundred years serving the people of Arias. I have given them virtually my entire life, all to ensure that they survived. No-one here is a slave, they all serve me because they desire to do so. If they wish to leave then they are free to do so. I would not prevent it."

"What about your human prisoners?" Lily demanded. "Are they free to go as well, or do you intend on keeping us prisoner."

"I would prefer the term guest," Jeanne replied, turning around and walking a short distance away. "It will not be for long, just until your commander gives me what I want. Then, as soon as certain Vorlon device is... removed, I will allow all the prisoners to leave. Until then, you must all remain in the mines below the city."

"Earth doesn't deal with terrorists," Lily informed her. "I don't know what you want, but Earth will send a fleet to destroy you before they give in do any demands you make."

Jeanne spun around to face Lily, her eyes gleaming. "They will agree," she assured the Major. "I have studied those I have captured, and the desires of those on Earth differ little from when I was there. They will agree, and even if they send a fleet, that will also suit my desires. I survived bombardment by a good portion of the Vorlon fleet, and few Earthforce vessel are not going to kill me now. If they attack, then it would be like turning the key in the lock that binds me to this world."

"I don't know who you think you are," Lily said furiously. "But, I know Earthdome would never agree to some Vorlon killing machine."

Lily was expecting an angry reaction to her comment, but instead Jeanne looked at her with a tormented expression on her face. Tears welled in her dark eyes, and it was obvious that the Lily's careless remark had struck a wound a lot more painful than the one the knife had caused. "I was human once, Major Logan," she said wistfully, her voice heavy with remorse and pain. "Before they came and took me away, my blood was just as red as yours. I breathed, I ate, I did all... well most anyway, of the things that makes you human. But, they soon changed all that. They took away my humanity, and left me like this. Now, I am nothing more than a weapon, designed solely to fight their stupid war for them." She glanced down at the dagger in her hands, still streaked with her blood. "I am no better than this cold, unfeeling lump of metal." 

Lily shuffled uncomfortably, disturbed by the reaction she had caused in Jeanne. Despite her occupation, she never really liked to cause pain to others. Certainly she could kill, but in the heat of battle she never had to stand around and watch the pain her enemies went through. Over time she had grown so used to bottling up her own feelings, that public displays of emotion from others always made her feel uneasy. Not really knowing why, she reached out a comforting hand.

Jeanne waved away Lily's offer of assistance and, after wiping away the single gleaming tear that had been trickling down her cheek, smiled wanly at the blonde-haired marine. "Of course, it all happened a long, long time ago," she said softly. "In fact, it has been over eight hundred and fifty years since the day I took my first breath, and nearly as long since I was last on Earth."

While Lily's eyes opened wide with surprise over her last comment, Jeanne looked down at her left shoulder, staring at something hidden beneath the material of her robe. Still holding the bloody knife in her left hand, she pulled at the collar of the robe with her right, tugging it aside to show Lily the pale flesh of her shoulder. Unlike the rest of her body, the skin here was marred, the white lines of a jagged scar visible despite the paleness of the flesh beneath. Although it had healed long ago, Lily still winced, realising that the wound that had caused it had been deep and probably very painful.

With a distant look on her face, Jeanne traced the lines of scar tissue with her fingers. "I got this when I was still human," she told Lily. "It was caused by an arrow from an English longbow. It penetrated my armour and impaled my flesh. I had to pull it from my body with my own hands. It was very painful and I was faint from loss of blood, but I still managed to struggle to my feet and continue the battle. Then, I looked on it as an annoyance, a wound that would slow me down and prevent me from doing what I thought was my destiny. Now, it is one of the few things I have left that reminds me that I was once human."

"I... I'm sorry..." Lily tried to say. 

Jeanne smiled, then reached out and tenderly stroked the Major's cheek. " Le lis fut toujours ma fleur favorite ," she murmured softly. Then she pulled away and looked down at the knife, which was still coated with her own blood. Running her fingers along the blade, she quickly wiped it clean and tossed it back to Lily. Then, as Lily tried to catch the knife without cutting herself, Jeanne licked the blood off her fingers.

"What is that supposed to mean," Lily asked, looking a little sickened by Jeanne's method of cleaning a knife.

"Thank you for feeling for me," Jeanne told her. "There is perhaps still some hope left for you yet. A warrior must always use her feelings to fight. If you are without feeling then you are already dead."

Lily frowned. "Thanks... I think."

"A true warrior also knows when to fight, and when not to fight." Jeanne said as she turned away from Lily, walking across towards where her sword had ended up. "Now, you must leave. I have much to do, and I no longer need your presence."

Seeing that it was Jeanne's intention to pick up the blade again, Lily leapt towards her, aiming to knocking the sword from the other woman's hand. Given the way Jeanne had thrown the knife back to her, and her last comments, Lily thought that she intended continuing the battle they had just fought, and she had no intention of allowing that to happen. However, she also didn't know just how fast Jeanne could move, and before Lily had even covered half the short distance between them, Jeanne had spun around to face her, the incredibly sharp sword facing straight toward the Major's chest. Lily's gasped in shock and tried to stop herself. But, she had put so much into the rush, that it was impossible to pull up in time.

Jeanne had only intended on swinging around to face Lily with the sword, just to stop the Major from doing anything stupid while she called for the guards to remove her to the mines. When she saw Lily coming head on toward her, she also tried to pull back. But, even with all her strength and speed, it was too late to stop Lily from impaling herself on the blade. So sharp, it could cut through steel, the sword sliced straight through Lily's chest, its tip exiting from her back. Lily didn't say a word, but her mouth opened in shock, and when she looked up, Jeanne could see the Major's eyes begin to cloud with pain. 

There was a sickening silence. It only lasted for second, but that single moment of deathly stillness seemed like forever to the two women. Then, with a faint moan, Lily slid backwards, the blade of the sword sliding out of her body with the same ease it had cut into her. She staggered away for a couple of steps, and then looked down at her chest. The brown material of her uniform was wet with her own blood, and more was gushing from the wound with each passing second. Lily pressed her hands over the wound, but was unable to stop the flow of her life blood. 

Then, she began to feel faint, and knew that she must be dying. The sword had struck her between her breasts, and she realised that it had probably cut open her heart. She tried to speak, but her lungs were quickly filling with blood and she could only manage one word before the pain of the injury suddenly rushed in. Overcome by agony, Lily collapsed slowly towards the floor. "Help..." she whispered, before her eyes closed and her world went black.

 

* * *

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER SEVEN   


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Lily lay stretched out on the floor, looking more like a rag doll than the unyielding, but vibrant woman she had been only moments before. A thin trail of blood leaked from one corner of her mouth, while a much larger stain was quickly spreading across the metal floor beneath her. Standing above her, a look of undiluted horror on her face, Jeanne held her sword in trembling hands, tiny drops of Lily's blood sliding slowly down the smooth metal to drip off the tip. The shock over what she had just done was plainly visible on her face and she stared down at the weapon as if it were a traitorous servant, instead of the unfeeling, mindless weapon it really was.

Her hands shook for a second and then, with a loud scream of rage and pain, she hurled the sword away from her with all her strength. Such was the power behind the throw that the blade flew all the way across the throne room and lodged into the wall above the golden doors. It hung there quivering for several moments, before falling back to the floor with a loud clang. Jeanne didn't notice the noise though, her attention was still firmly focused on Lily.

Kneeling down next to the mortally wounded marine, Jeanne pressed her hands against the wound in an attempt to stem the flow of blood. There was no stopping it though, and within moments her hands were coated red with Lily's life blood. Tears began to stream down her cheeks as she realised that Lily was dying, and there was nothing she could do. For a moment she thought about calling her servants, in the hope that one of the healers could be summoned in time, but she knew it would take them at least ten minutes to reach the palace level and by then it would be far too late.

Removing her hands from Lily's chest she stared at the blood covering them, wishing that it was her blood that had been spilt, not the marine's. If she had been injured in the same way she would recover quickly, while a mortal like Lily would soon die from her wounds. Jeanne stared at her blood-stained hands for several precious seconds, before a sudden revelation came to her. With new urgency guiding her actions, she dug razor sharp fingernails into her palm, tearing deep gouges in the soft flesh.

Almost immediately, the lines of torn flesh began to well with droplets of pale blood, as her body began the process to repair the damage. Before that process could be completed though, she placed her wounded hand over Lily's chest and squeezed as much of her blood as she could onto the reddish stain on the other woman's chest. As she watched, the glowing blood quickly ate its way through the material of the Major's uniform and was absorbed by the flesh beneath. Flexing her now fully healed hand, Jeanne watched nervously, unsure how her blood would effect Lily.

After watching for nearly a minute, she noticed that Lily's chest continued to rise and fall, although there was no other visible response. She didn't truly know what effect her desperate gamble would have. She had used her blood in the past to heal several of her servants, but the effects on them had only been temporary, lasting perhaps a week at the most. Arisians were very different from humans though, and while she could hardly be called human any more, Jeanne hoped the Vorlons may had left just enough of her original genetic make-up intact for the effects to be more permanent on Lily.

Another minute slowly ticked by, and there was still no reaction for the injured marine. Growing more concerned by the second, Jeanne climbed to her feet and hurried over to the nearby throne. There, she tapped a control mounted on the arm. The worried voice of her counsellor, Morkazz, quickly answered her summons. "Are you all right, Mistress?" the old servant asked, his voice carrying the full weight of the anxiety he was feeling.

"I am well," Jeanne replied. "But please return to the throne room, I have need of your assistance at once."

"I am on my way, Mistress."

Seconds later the golden doors opened and the counsellor slipped though, careful to shut and lock them behind him. He then quickly hurried over to the throne, noting the bloody sword lying near the doors as he passed. Spying Major Logan lying on the ground near the throne, he approached cautiously. "Is she wounded?" he asked, noticing for the first time the large bloodstain on the floor.

"Yes," Jeanne replied softly, her voice pained as the guilt she felt over Lily's injury began to eat away her composure. "It was an accident, I never meant to hurt her. She must have thought I did though, and she tried to attack me. I didn't see her coming and she was injured. I have tried my best to heal her, but I do not really know how to make her better."

Morkazz looked down at Lily, before nudging her with one clawed toe. "Is she alive?" he asked cautiously. "She is not moving."

"She is alive," Jeanne confirmed. "But I do not know if she will survive." She looked at Morkazz with a worried expression on her face. "I do not want her to die. None of them must die. I desire my freedom, but it must not come through the deaths of others. That is too high a price to pay. I would prefer to die rather than let another die for my selfish needs."

"Perhaps one of the healers may be of assistance," the counsellor suggested. "They are very skilled and can heal most wounds that occur among the Chosen."

Jeanne knelt down beside Lily again, gently wiping several beads sweat off the marine's forehead. "They are very skilled at treating the injured of this world," she agreed. "But this woman is not of this world. Our healers do not have the experience with her people, she may be better served by one of her own healers."

"Shall I order one of the prisoners bought from the mines? Perhaps one of them is trained as a healer. I heard one of them calling another doctor. In the transmissions we watched from her world, a doctor was one that treated the sick."

After considering this suggestion for several seconds, Jeanne shook her head. "No, I do not want them here yet. Bring Harj, she can assist me. I have healed the sick before, long ago in another life time. I still have my memories of that life and perhaps I may be able to help her. I still do not know if she will survive, but at least I know how to ease her pain while we find out."

"I will summon Harj," Morkazz agreed, before hesitating and looking at the buttons on the arm of the throne in confusion. "How do I do that?" he asked. "I am not familiar with the functions of these buttons."

Jeanne pointed toward one of the smaller buttons and the counsellor pressed it. Almost at once the spiral staircase leading down from her quarters appeared, slowly gliding down until it touched the floor of the throne room. Morkazz bowed once in her direction and quickly hurried up the stairs to find the blind servant, Harj. As he climbed the winding flight of stairs, Jeanne noticed that his limp had begun to return. The effects of her regenerative blood on the old counsellor were starting to wear off and with growing trepidation she looked down at Lily again, wondering how long she could keep the marine alive this way. 

As the counsellor walked up the stair, Jeanne tore a strip of cloth off her already ragged looking robe and began to wipe away the blood that stained her hands. Once that was done, then she started to do the same for Lily. The small piece of cloth was quickly soaked in the Lily's blood, but it did help to ease some of the guilt she was feeling. Cleaning the last of the scattered blood splatters off Lily's face, Jeanne unzipped the Major's uniform to examine the wound itself. The white shirt Lily wore beneath her uniform jacket had been ruined, but at least there didn't appear to be any more blood flowing from the wound.

A jagged tear in the white material marked the spot where her sword had sliced into Lily's chest, so Jeanne unbuttoned the shirt there and searched for the wound. To her surprise, she couldn't find any trace of an injury. There was a lot of blood, but no wound, at least not any more. Curious, Jeanne unbuttoned the rest of the shirt, and wiped away some of the pooled blood with her already soaked cloth. Again she could find no trace of an open wound, just a long, narrow scar where the sword had entered the Major's flesh.

The realisation that the regenerative properties her blood must have completely healed Lily came as something of a shock to Jeanne. She had been hoping for some reaction, but not anything like this. When she had used her blood to heal her servants all that had resulted had been an easing of their pain. It hadn't been permanent, but the effect it had achieved on Lily obviously was. In fact, the injured woman appeared to be sleeping comfortably, although her skin was pale due to the massive blood loss she had just experienced. 

Pressing her hand against Lily's chest, Jeanne could feel the Major's heart beating slowly. It was weaker than it should have been, but it was still regular. The fact that it was beating at all gave Jeanne some hope that Lily would recover. Her own heart no longer beat, in fact she wasn't even sure if the Vorlons had left any of her internal organs intact. If Lily was only being kept alive by the blood she had infused, then the marine's heart probably wouldn't still be working. 

At least that is the way Jeanne imagined it worked, her understanding of genetics was poor at best. The Vorlons had only given her knowledge about fields of science that they thought would be useful to a warrior. Thus, she had a lot of knowledge about the various races of the galaxy, as well as their military technologies and ways to defeat them. Over the centuries she had become an expert at adapting those military technologies to other uses, but had specifically chosen to stay well away from genetics. After what the Vorlons had done to her, she never wanted to see another creature go through the same agony.

Taking her hand away, she pulled the white shirt closed and buttoned it up again. She then began to stroke Lily's forehead, slowly running her hand though the Major's spiky blonde hair, while at the same time thinking back to the experiments that the Vorlons had conducted on her. A moan from Lily soon interrupted Jeanne's musing though, and she looked down at the injured woman with a feeling of sudden relief. Then the Major's eyelids flickered and slowly opened, her pain filled brown eyes looking up at Jeanne. "What... What happened?" she asked, sounding confused.

"You hurt yourself," Jeanne explained, choosing not to inform Lily of the extent of her injuries just yet. "I have healed you. You are still weak, but now that you are awake, I believe that you will recover in time."

Lily tried to raise herself off the floor, but quickly fell back again when a sudden wave of dizziness came over her. She lifted one trembling hand to try and bat away Jeanne's hand. "You were trying to kill me," she said accusingly, before breaking off into a coughing fit. Leaning over, she spat out some the blood that had choked her lungs.

"You are mistaken," Jeanne said softly, laying a comforting hand on Lily's shoulder. "You do not remember what happened correctly. You tried to attack me, and there was an... accident."

"That is not the way I remember it," Lily frowned, although she looked slightly confused, as if unsure of her own memories. Everything had occurred so quickly that she didn't remember what had happened exactly. However, despite the gap in her memories, she didn't think she would ever attack someone without cause. That just wasn't the way she did things. She was a soldier, but not a killer.

"I would not willingly hurt you," Jeanne assured her. "You should not listen to what your memories tell you, they can tell you strange things. Your head can lie to you, or they can get in there and make you think things that you don't want to think. Follow where you heart guides you, it will lead you to what is right. You should always listen to your heart, it always tells you the truth."

Lily just looked at her in confusion, before pain clouded her features and she slumped back against the floor. She tried to flex her hand, but suddenly froze up as pain arched through her body. It felt as though every pore of her skin was being stabbed with tiny, burning needles. In only lasted a second, before subsiding to a dull throbbing pain, but it was enough to make her gasp out loud.

"Are you all right?" Jeanne asked, disturbed by Lily's reaction.

Lily smiled wanly. "I'm fine," she said, although she felt anything but fine. She felt thoroughly exhausted, and every time she tried to move she felt a stabbing pain in her chest. "I think I need to sleep," she muttered to herself.

"I will have you taken to the mines," Jeanne said hurriedly. "Your friends are there and they will be able to take care of you better than me. I was just worried that you were not going to survive your injury, but now that you are awake again I think you will live."

"I can't walk," Lily said. "In fact, I don't think I can even stand."

"You do not need to," Jeanne told her, pointing toward the stairs. ""I will have some of my servants carry you. Do not worry they will be gentle and I will ensure that you are not hurt."

Lily moved her head just enough to see what Jeanne was indicating and her gaze fell on the staircase. Even with her mind clouded with pain, she still remembered that the stairs had not been in the throne room before. She didn't have time to wonder where they had come from though, as the robed alien she had seen earlier was just stepping from them onto the throne room floor, followed closely by a much smaller, green-skinned alien who's eyes were covered by a pinkish film.

She watched them suspiciously as they walked quickly across the room until they reached the throne. It was then that Lily realised that the new alien was actually blind. She had thought that the pinkish colour to its eyes was natural, but when it stumbled over the blood soaked strip of cloth Jeanne had torn from her robes, Lily suddenly realised that this new alien could not see anything. However, despite its blindness the alien still managed to find her way across the throne room without any assistance.

Reaching the throne, Morkazz and Harj bowed low in the direction of Jeanne. "I have come as summoned, Mistress," Harj said sniffing the air curiously, before turning to face Lily. "Is this the creature that needs tending."

Jeanne nodded. "Yes, bring water, cloths and a clean robe from my collection. She had been injured, and the wound must be cleaned before she is permitted to leave and rejoin her companions."

Harj frowned, her delicate eye ridges drooping lower on her face. "Is this not a job for the healer," she asked carefully. "They would better know how to heal one of these creatures."

"I have already healed her," Jeanne explained. "I need only clean away her blood and replace her damaged clothing so she can be returned to her people. She is shorter than I am, but my robes should still fit."

Harj seemed to accept this explanation. "As you wish, Mistress," the servant replied. "I will bring you what you require. However there is only one robe left. The rest were no longer able to be repaired."

Jeanne frowned. "Bring it anyway," she said, making a mental note to look into the matter of her clothing as soon as possible. It had been a long time since she had asked for anything new to be made for her, and perhaps it was far too long. Certainly the condition of her robes had deteriorated over time, and replacements were certainly called for. "As well as some cloths for cleaning. Also I will need the service of the other cleaning staff later, to mop away the blood on the floor."

Harj nodded and after a quick bowed walked away, heading unerringly towards the staircase. Morkazz looked down at Lily for a second, before turning to Jeanne. "What is it you desire of me, Mistress?" he asked.

"When Harj returns I want you to arrange for Azrak to carry Major Logan to the mines. She can not walk in her condition and I do not want her injured again. Ensure that the general understands that it is my wish that she not be injured."

"Yes, Mistress," the counsellor replied, looking at Lily with a curious expression on his face, wondering what it was about her that made Jeanne treat her this way. The Mistress certainly hadn't shown any special treatment to the other prisoners, but then she had not injured any of them either. Perhaps she was feeling guilty over the near death, and wished to atone for her actions. "I shall arrange a stretcher," he said. "It will take some time, so I will leave now."

"Go," Jeanne said. "But return with Azrak, I still have need of you."

Morkazz bowed and left, Lily's eyes following him until he had left the throne room. Then she turned her head to look at Jeanne, wincing a little at the pain that small movement caused her. "Why are you acting like this," she asked, sounding annoyed more than anything. "Only a minute or so ago you were trying to kill me, now you seem to be doing everything possible to try and make me better. Don't give me any of that crap about my memory not being right either. It is working fine and I remember everything that happened. You were trying to kill me, you picked up the sword and said that you no longer needed my presence."

Jeanne stared at her in amazement. "You thought that meant I was trying to kill you?" she asked, sounding stunned. "I did not want to hurt you. Despite what the Vorlon tried to make me into, I could never hurt anyone, well... except for them. I was just going to summon the guards to take you to the mines."

"It didn't seem that way to me," Lily said, before wincing again as another jolt of pain shot through her. Lifting one trembling hand up until she could see it, she stared at her pale flesh, wondering why she kept feeling pain in her limbs.

"You must rest," Jeanne admonished Lily. "You have lost a lot of blood and were badly wounded. It will take some time before you are well again, but at least you are alive."

Lily's caustic response was cut off before she even opened her mouth. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the blind servant approaching again, several other aliens in tow. Lily turned and stared at them for a second before realising that the other servants were also blind. She looked back at Jeanne. "Why are they all blind?" she asked. "It seem a little strange."

"They were born blind," Jeanne explained, taking a container of water from Harj and wetting a cloth. "It is a illness among the females of this world. Perhaps one in a thousand is born this way. Before I arrived they would soon die from lack of food, now they serve in a variety of roles. Some act as my personal servants, as they can not see what I really am."

"So it is all just one big happy family is it?" Lily said. "But what happens to those who don't obey you. Are they forced to work in the mines like your human prisoners."

Jeanne frowned at her, wondering what the Major was talking about now. Dipping the cloth into the water again, she washed away the rest of the blood before dropping the cloth back into the container and directing the servants to begin to clean up the blood stain on the floor. Then, with that out of the way, she turned back to Lily. "I do not know what you are talking about," she said angrily. "I have told you before, I serve the people of this world, not the other way around. They only obey my rules because they are correct, not because they are afraid of me. As for my guests, it was they who decided to work in the mines. I did not force them, they chose to do the work I ordered."

"That is correct, Creature," Harj suddenly butted in. "Do not talk to this way to the Mistress. You do not know her as I do. She serves this world every day, despite being close to death. Every day I see her growing sicker and sicker, but she still tries to do everything she can to make our lives better. You should not speak to her in this way, especially after she saved your life."

Lily looked from Jeanne and Harj, a frown on her face. Another jolt of pain assaulted her, and for a second it felt as though her blood was on fire. It made concentrating on what Jeanne and the servant were saying difficult. "I need to sleep," she said painfully. Her vision suddenly blurred, and before she could say anything more her eyes closed and she sunk back into unconsciousness.

Jeanne immediately dropped back to Lily's side, feeling guilty for allowing her anger to get the better of her again. For a moment she wished that she hadn't clung on to her emotions so strongly during the Vorlon's alterations. It would be nice not to have to feel anger or guilt over her actions and the actions of others. But she quickly dismissed that idea, realising that without her emotions then she would be just what Lily had said before, a Vorlon killing machine. With them, there was still a part of her that was human, no matter how small that part had become.

After checking to make sure that Lily was still alive, Jeanne tugged off the Major's blood stained clothing and took the robe Harj had bought with her. "There was no need to defend me so strongly," she told the servant, as she pulled the robe over Lily's shoulders and pulled it closed. "I can defend myself."

"I am sorry, Mistress," the servant said, bowing. "I will remember that in future."

"Thank you anyway," Jeanne said, looking up at Harj. "It is good to know that I am still welcome. It is a pity that she could not see that, but in time perhaps she can be made to learn." She reached out and gently stroked Lily's face. "She reminds me so much of the person I used to be. She never lets the opinions of others throw her from her convictions, and will continue to fight even when the odds are against her. It is an admirable trait and if she had wisdom to guide her action she would be a much better person. Perhaps in time she will learn the lessons that need to be taught."

"Perhaps you can teach her," Harj suggested, picking up the blood stained jacket and shirt, and dropping them into the water container.

Jeanne shook her head. "No, she must learn for herself. After today, I do not think she will speak to me again." She sighed and stood up, leaving Lily sleeping on the metal floor. Looking over at Harj, her eyes dropped to the Major's clothing. "Have them cleaned and taken to the mines," she ordered Harj. "If that is the only robe I have left, I can not afford to give it away."

"I will take care of the cleaning myself," Harj said, looking down at Lily. "This creature may remind you of yourself, Mistress, but she is nothing like you. For one thing, she smells funny."

"That is her blood," Jeanne explained.

Harj snorted. "If you say so, Mistress."

For some reason, Jeanne felt strangely annoyed at the servant's attitude towards Lily. It may have just been some residual feeling of humanity clawing its way back up from deep within her, but for some reason she felt close to Lily. She sensed that they were kindred spirits in some way. Not only were they alike, but there seemed to be something linking them. Jeanne frowned as she realised that the feeling she was now experiencing had not been present before Lily's wound. Perhaps the fact that some of her blood now flowed in the Major's veins had bought them closer.

Although she was intrigued by this development, Jeanne didn't want to dwell on such matters. Instead she walked away from Lily and took her seat back on the throne. Then, as she darkened the air around her once more, she turned to Harj and said, "you may leave, Harj. When the clothing is cleaned please arrange for it to be taken to the mines, and for my robe to be returned."

"Yes, Mistress," the blind servant replied with a low bow.

She then turned and walked towards the throne room doors. As she approached they opened suddenly and a small group of warriors burst in, their weapons clutched in their hands. Behind them, arguing with Morkazz, came their leader, Azrak. Spotting Jeanne's sword lying near the throne room doors, the general picked up the weapon and followed his warriors over to the throne, ignore the servant as she passed.

"Are you uninjured, Mistress," he asked as soon as he arrived, eyeing Major Logan's sleeping form suspiciously. "This alien warrior did not hurt you."

"No she did not," Jeanne replied. "However she was injured and I require you to carry her to her friends in the mines. They can take better care of her than I could."

Azrak flexed his claws for a couple of seconds, looking annoyed at this development. But, despite his feelings, he bowed and submitted to Jeanne's wishes. "I will see that it is done," he said. "My warrior will ensure that she suffers no further injury... if that is you wish."

"It is," Jeanne said firmly. "As I said before none must die. She is very close to death, so must be treated carefully if she is to survive. Take her to her friends, they can look after her better than I can. Ensure that they have everything they need."

"Is there anything else that you require, Mistress?" Azrak asked as the four warriors carefully picked up the sleeping Lily and began to carry her out of the throne room on the stretcher.

"There is just one more thing that you can do for me right now," Jeanne said, reaching one hand down beside the throne. Resting against the throne, completely hidden in the shadow of the tall chair, were two objects. One was the small communicator Azrak had bought back when he had captured the IPX rover, the second was a medium sized package wrapped in yellowish paper. It was this second object that she picked up and handed across to the general.

"What is this?" Azrak asked curiously, slowly turning the object over in his hands, while at the same time taking extra care to ensure that his claws did not pierce the paper wrapping.

"Take it to the prisoners," Jeanne ordered, choosing not to answer his question. "They will known what to do with it. Give it to one of their leaders and tell him to pass it on to the person it is addressed to."

Azrak frowned at the two words written on the package, trying to make out the name. The characters were in English, but the quality of the writing was so poor that he gave up. Instead, he bowed in the direction of the throne and said, "as you wish, Mistress."

Then he turned and marched out of the throne room, following the small procession carrying Lily. Jeanne watched their passage right up until the great doors shut behind them. As soon as they were gone, she let out a tired sigh, and slumped back into the cushioned throne, allowing the shadows around her to fade away again. Noticing Morkazz still standing nearby, she turned to him and said, "I do hope Major Logan will recover for her wound."

"As do I, Mistress," the counsellor agreed. "They are indeed a violent people, but I do not wish them harm. After all, our warriors are violent when needed, and these human warriors must have their reasons for their violent natures."

"You do not know them as I know them," Jeanne replied, a distant look in her eyes. "When I was still on Earth I saw so many things that horrified me, some even still haunt my nightmares. If it were not for the fact that I thought that what I was doing was my destiny, I do not think I would have survived the pain and bloodshed so long. Some humans are capable of great evil, but others can also perform great good. However, despite their faults, I also wish no harm to any of the prisoners. A part of me feels sorry for having to imprison them here, but another part knows that they will not feel any ill effects from their short stay. Some may have bad memories of their time here, but most will leave with only good memories."

Morkazz turned to look at her, the scaly ridges above this eyes crinkling downwards in the Arisian imitation of a frown. "How is that, Mistress?" he asked. "They did not seem happy when we took them to the mines, why will they feel otherwise when we leave."

"Because I intend on allowing them to leave with all their possessions. That should make them feel a lot better."

"I still do not understand," Morkazz replied. "Is this some human trait that I am unaware of?"

Jeanne turned to him and smiled for the first time since her confrontation with Lily. "It is called greed," she said softly. "I have watched them as they worked in the mines. At first they were very reluctant to work, but once they saw what they were mining, they suddenly lost that reluctance and began to work with considerably more gusto."

"Because of those shiny rocks?" Morkazz asked, waving one clawed hand in the direction of the gem studded ceiling. "Like the ones in the throne room."

"Exactly," Jeanne replied with a amused nod. "On Earth rocks like those are very valuable. Many of the prisoners have taken the time to put aside a small amount of the gems they have been mining, possibly in the hope that they will be able to keep them when they are rescued. I intend on making sure they do so."

"They are valuable?" Morkazz questioned, his eye ridges rising in surprise. "But there are so many of them, how could they be valuable. I have spoken many times to the artisans and they do see them as valuable, just as useful for ornamentation."

"They become valuable when they are rarer," Jeanne explained. "On Earth they are very rare and so they are valuable. Here gemstones are common, so they are of little value. Here other things are of value."

"Like Júrm leather," the counsellor said, suddenly getting the idea. "Artisan Uijan said that it is finest of materials available for her clothing, and all of the warriors want to wear uniforms made of Júrm leather. I even heard that Worker Himaz traded four loads of Yuital fungi for a single cloak of Júrm leather."

"Traded?" Jeanne asked, her voice suddenly growing harsher. "I trust he picked the four loads during his own time."

Morkazz looked a little nervous, hoping that his ill chosen words hadn't placed his old friend Himaz in any trouble. "I am sure he did, Mistress," he replied. "He would not break the your laws. I believe that many of the workers do extra work so they can trade for possession that they desire. Many of the artisans also work longer hours so they can have goods to trade with."

Jeanne nodded. "That is all right then. If the workers wish to spend more time slaving away in the fungi farms, then I will permit them to trade for goods they desire. But the restriction on the markets remain. Greed is something that must never arise on this world. I have seen what it can do to people, and I will not allow it to happen to those who follow me. On this world it is effort that is rewarded, not greed and theft."

"We understand, Mistress," Morkazz assured her, swishing his tail nervously. "All understand that your rules are in place for the good of our society and we thank you for them. There is no suffering on this world thanks to the rules you have put in place. When I watched the transmissions from other worlds I have seen how lucky we are to live on this world, despite its problems. We would not disobey your sacred laws if it means becoming like the other worlds."

"Good," Jeanne said, closing her eyes for a second and sighing tiredly. "I hope that your people will continue this way when I am gone, Morkazz. I have spent so long making everything perfect, making everyone work together to improve society. I would hate to see my efforts wasted."

"You are leaving, Mistress?" Morkazz asked, disappointment and fear creeping into his voice.

She smiled at him. "Eventually, I must leave," she told him gently. "If my plans work, then the humans will free me and if they fail, then I die. Eventually I must leave you here. Over the past hundred years I have been needed less and less, and in time your people will no longer need my input. You have grown much in the centuries since my arrival and it is time you were free to pursue your own destiny."

"But, Mistress," the counsellor said. "We do not wish you to leave."

"I know that," she replied. "But I can not remain forever. There are other worlds that would benifit from my assistance, and once I am freed from this one then it will soon be time for me to move on.Also, somewhere out there are the creatures that made me the person I am today. I want to find them and... thank them properly. Then I will be free at last."

"Will you return?"

"In time. But there is so much more I need to see. I was born on Earth, but I have not seen my homeland for eight centuries. I would like to see my old home one more time. Then there are the alien worlds, and other realms yet to be discovered. I will visit them all and then, with my memories full of visions of wondrous lands, I will return here to die, secure in the knowledge that I have seen all that there is to see."

Morkazz tapped his claw together in the traditional Arisian sign of grief or sorrow. "This world will miss you greatly, Mistress," he said sadly, before straightening and looking more resolute. "But, we will survive without your presence. You have taught us many things during your time here, and we will use them all to survive. We will construct our own starships and sail among the stars like the humans and the other races. Then, perhaps sometime in the future, ships from this world will meet you and you will see what we have accompanied. We will make it our aim to reach out to the stars and show them the glories of your rule."

Jeanne reached out a hand and placed on the counsellor's robed arm. "Thank you," she said softly. "I am glad my choice was not wrong." Then, before Morkazz had time to digest her words, she continued. "Right now though, I need you to do something else for me. I want you to go and summon Artisan Uijan and bring her here."

Morkazz looked confused for a second, both by the sudden change of topic, and by the request. "Why Uijan?"

"I have need of her services," Jeanne said, fingering the old robe she wore. "I have learned one things from my encounter with Major Logan. Image is important to humans, and I need to look the part if I am to convince them to do what I require. Tell Uijan to bring her apprentices and a good supply of materials. There will be much work for her to do, and little time to do it."

"Yes, Mistress," Morkazz said, bowing. "I will summon her."

"Good," Jeanne replied. "Now go. We will speak again soon."

Morkazz nodded, and hurried out of the throne room. As he left, Jeanne looked down at her robe again, shaking her head. The robe, like most of her clothing, was nearly a hundred years old and had been patched several times. While it was still very comfortable to wear, she should have realised that appearance was more important when meeting newcomers. She had grown so used to hiding herself away from sight, that she had taken little care of her own appearance.

Tapping her finger slowly on the arm of the throne Jeanne closed her eyes and began to think about what she could ask Uijan to make for her. She knew there was little time left before the leaders of the Earthforce expedition arrived, but that should be enough time to produce something a little bit more impressive than a tattered old robe. Smiling to herself she began to run through ideas in her head, already planning ahead for the meeting she knew was only a matter of days, if not hours away.

 

* * *

 

Several hours later, a young Arisian scout found himself crouching behind the stump of an ancient tree, trying to do his best not to be seen while he observed the aliens walking along the valley floor below. Just in front of him, the rocky hilltop suddenly dropped away, forming a steep and dangerous slope. This rough hillside of loose rock and dead trees formed part of the inner borders of the Mistress' domain. Below stretched the valley floor, and beyond that the unclaimed lands where the sometimes dangerous wildlife of Arias ran free.

The scout was one of the many charged with watching these borders, a job that rarely saw any excitement at all. Apart from the occasional Júrm snake crawling its way out of the nearby swamps, few creatures ever came this close to the Mistress' citadel. Today though, was different. Today the aliens had arrived, picking their way alone the old road towards the outlying farms. Of course he had heard of these creatures before, having seen them on the interstellar broadcasts picked up by the Mistress' satellite, which had been almost compulsory viewing up until the satellite had been destroyed last week. These creatures were called humans and lived among the stars with many other alien races. Before today though, they had been little more than stories.

He had heard the rumours that a group of these humans had landed a spaceship somewhere in the outer regions, but only the higher ranks were ever permitted to know what occurred outside the civilised lands. His knowledge ended at the last of the construction sites. As far as he was concerned, that was his world. Until he reached the rank of full scout, he would never be permitted to leave the inner borders. However, today he had a chance to prove himself worthy for such an honour.

Orders had arrived early that day from General Azrak that the borders were to be watched closely for any signs of aliens. He hadn't really believed that these aliens were real, but here they were, walking along the road as if they owned it. Curious, the young scout moved closer to the cliff top, eager to see these creatures for himself. The images he had seen on the display screens had been blurred and distorted after their passage through the barrier of the storm, but here he could see these creatures in real life.

They were indeed curious creatures, carrying strange light making devices that the shone along the path, almost as if they could not see where they were going without them. The scout did a quick head count and discovered that there were only twelve of the aliens. He frowned, wondering why the great General Azrak would be so worried about them. In the southern perimeter guard alone there were over two thousand scouts, along with their warrior leaders. Surely such a small group of aliens couldn't pose any serious threat.

The scout eyed the aliens again, looking for something he might have missed during his earlier observation. He couldn't see anything though, apart from some other strange devices that the aliens were carrying in their arms. These creatures also seemed to be wearing a lot more clothing than most Arisians, except maybe the theologians who tended the archives. Apart from the clothing and the strange devices, there was nothing else about these creatures that posed a threat. Shrugging to himself, the scout continued his observations. His orders had called for carefully recording of all the alien's movements and he intended on doing the best job possible, in the hope of being noticed by his superiors and chosen for promotion.

Suddenly one of the aliens stopping walking, and looked up in his direction. The scout quickly ducked out of sight, accidentally bumping against a small pile of loose rocks as he moved. The rocks slid over the edge of the cliff top and tumbled down the slope, colliding with more rocks along the way, until it eventually started a minor avalanche that slide noisily down the steep slope. To the young scout it sounded like a deafening roar, and he slunk away into to the nearby forests, knowing that there was no way the aliens would have missed the avalanche. It seemed that his promotion might have to wait after all.

 

* * *

 

Susan glanced up towards the top of the cliff that towered high above them. The rescue team had left the hovercraft behind when they had reached the end of the swamps, and now made their way on foot across this alien world. Fortunately the going had been good, with the ground hard and rocky instead of muddy as it had been along the edge of the swamp. In fact, it almost felt as though they were walking along a path created by some sentient being, instead of a rough animal track running through a thickening forest of knee-high fungus. She scanned the cliff top, wondering what it was that had attracted her attention. She had felt a strange tingling on the back of her neck, almost as if someone or something was watching her. Her rational mind told her it was probably nothing, but her experience as a fighter pilot told her something else entirely.

Suddenly, a dark shadow leapt up from behind the broken stump of an ancient tree and vanished into the forest Susan could just see over the top of the cliff. For a second she wondered if she hadn't imagined the shadow, but when a small rock slide started tumbling down the cliff face, she knew there must have been something up there watching them.

"What the hell was that?" Drake suddenly called out from the head of the column.

"Shine a light along the cliff top," Susan ordered. "There was something up there watching us."

Two marines hurried to carry out her orders, shining their powerful spotlights along the cliff face, and finally along the top of the cliff itself. However, apart from some dust left over from the rock slide, there was nothing out of the ordinary. "What did you see?" Drake asked, making his way back down the short column to Susan's side.

"I'm not sure," she replied. "It was a shadow of some kind. I didn't really get a good look, it was dark and I only caught a glimpse of it for a second. There was definitely something up there though, so keep an eye out from now on. It was probably just some animal, but if there is some hostile alien out there, I want to know about it before it comes down here and bites me."

Drake smiled faintly and then nodded in agreement. "I will make sure everyone is on their toes," he said, glancing around at the dark hills that surrounded them. "There is something about this place that gives me the creeps anyway. This is the second time now I have felt something watching us. It makes me think we are being herded somewhere."

"There is definitely something strange about this place," Susan agreed, staring up at the cliff top again.

Drake glanced around at the rest of the rescue team, noticing that several of his soldiers were looking tired from the long walk up from the swamp. "Perhaps we should rest here for a while. It has been a long day, and it might be time to set up camp for the night. I don't think it would be a good idea to be tired if we do have to fight some alien menace."

"I would prefer to be on high ground first," Susan said. "I don't want to be stuck down here if something is going to attack us, we are too vulnerable."

"How about the top of the hill then," Drake suggested, pointing towards the cliff top above them. "We might be able to find a way to climb up there. If we post a guard then we shouldn't be bothered by whatever it is that has been watching us." 

Susan frowned, looking down the rough trail to the point were it turned around the corner of the gorge and vanished off into the darkness. This narrow valley was a dangerous place to be trapped if there was something out there that wished them harm. A boulder pushed over the edge of the cliffs would quickly lead to a proper avalanche, probably burying them in the process. Up ahead the valley only seemed to get narrower. "How far until we reach our destination?" she asked.

"Still around another six or seven kilometres," Drake replied. "If the terrain remains like this though, it is going to take us another half a day to make it there. That is assuming that we don't run into anything along the way." He hesitated for a second, before saying, "I can send out a scouting party if you want."

"Good idea, Sergeant," Susan said, nodding in agreement. "Pick three men and scout out the rest of this valley. Try and find a way up onto the ridge if you can, of a more defensible position to camp. Everyone else will have one drink from their canteens and fifteen minutes off their feet, starting now. Then we'll 'slow walk' until we catch up with you."

"Yes, Captain," Drake said with a salute. "We will get back as soon as we can."

"Look for somewhere to set up camp as well," Susan ordered. "Preferably somewhere protected. And keep an eye open for anything suspicious."

Drake nodded and hurried off to carry out her orders. As he assembled his scouting party, his orders receiving a chorus of groans from the tired marines, Susan made her way over to where Talia was sitting. Despite carrying a lighter pack than the marines, the blonde telepath still looked exhausted after the long trek from the swamp. "Are you OK," Susan asked as she sat down on a large chunk of rock next to Talia.

Talia stopped rubbing her sore feet for a moment and looked up at Susan with a tired smile on her face. "I don't think I have ever walked so far before. I must be out of shape, I think it is because I have spent so long in space."

"I know what you mean," Susan replied, unclipping her pack and sliding off her shoulder. "We are taking a rest break now, so take off your pack and get something to eat. We should be stopping for the night soon. It is too far to continue on tonight. Drake is going to scout ahead and see if there isn't a suitable place to set up camp somewhere up ahead."

"Sounds wonderful," Talia said, as she also removed her pack and dropped it onto the hard ground behind her. "After today, I think I could sleep for a month." As Susan smiled, Talia looked over at the Drake and three other marines, who were just walking heading off on their scouting mission. "What was all that noise a minute ago about?" she asked.

"There was something on the cliff top," Susan informed her. "I think it might have been some sort of animal. It started a small rock slide. I didn't get a good look at the creature, just a quick glimpse of something black, before it vanished into that forest up there."

Talia looked up, following the cliff top with her eyes, before frowning and turning back to Susan. "Did you sense anything out there," she asked in a low voice, after first checking around to make sure there wasn't anyone else nearby who might overhear their conversation. "You should have been able to pick up this creatures mental signature. That should have told you if it was an animal or something sentient." 

Susan shook her head. "I didn't think of trying."

Talia stared at Susan in exasperation.  <You should have tried,> she said telepathically.  <You would have found out exactly what was watching us.>

<Unless it has telepathic abilities as well,> Susan replied.  <The Vorlons were very powerful telepaths, and any creature that they were afraid of must have been were dangerous indeed. It probably has telepathic powers of its own and might learn that we are here.>

<If it watching us, then it already knows we are here,> Talia reminded her.  <I don't have the telepathic strength to reach out that far and detect individual minds, especially not when I am surrounded by others. But you might do it. You have to try.>

Susan sighed, and after glancing around at the marines to ensure none were watching her, she nodded.  <All right, I will try.> Closing her eyes, she began to reach out with her mind, searching for any sign of the creature she had seen earlier. Almost immediately the thoughts of those nearby began to intrude into her mind. Fortunately there were only the five marines, Dr. Melis, and Talia who were left, and it took her less than a minute to block them all out. She felt a small rush of pride at her effort, realising that she was slowly improving in her abilities. It was now possible to block out the thoughts of others with little more than a moment of concentration, where before she would have been overwhelmed by the rush of voices.

For a moment her mind wandered, searching around the small clearing the rescue party was resting in. Then she felt a brief flash of encouragement from somewhere close by, and a warm hand closed over hers.  <Search were you saw the creature,> Talia sent.  <I will watch your thoughts and help you if you are in trouble.>

Nodding, Susan allowed her mind to search beyond the clearing, reaching across the surrounding country side, searching for anything that might be alive. Tiny specks of mental activity marked the locations of animals and other wildlife. She didn't stay long in their minds, they were too small to pick up anything but the most basic of emotions and in the case of most of these creatures it was hunger they were feeling. Letting her thoughts leap from mind to mind, she reached out across the nearby forest, always searching for the mind of the creature that had been observing them.

Then she found it, an alien mind travelling away from them as fast as it could run. The creature was so alien that she picked up less from it than she had from the animals and insects she had scanned before it. All she received was a thought of failure, as if the creature had failed in some duty it was to perform. It was too far away now for a proper scan, but she still tried to dig deeper, to learn why it was watching them. Then she stopped herself, realising that she could not find out anything more without alerting the creature to her presence in its mind.

Instead, she left the alien's mind and searched for other mind nearby. Once she had contacted one of the aliens, locating the others became considerably easier. Soon another three creatures had been located, all arranged in a line. Unlike the first creature, these aliens had a feeling of watchfulness about them, as if they were looking for something. Susan quickly realised that the something they were looking for was her rescue team. All of the aliens had thoughts about humans most prominent in their minds. They were searching for her.

Before she had time to be worried about her findings though, another alien mind suddenly leapt into view in her mental landscape. This new mind was located far beyond the others, several kilometres distant at least, but it was considerably more powerful. With a sudden feeling of trepidation, she realised that this new mind could sense her, and that it was telepathic. However, it did not seem interested in her, instead it appeared not to even notice her, as if she wasn't important to it.

Curious she looked closer, reaching out to the creature. Almost immediately though, she recoiled in shock, recognising the thoughts of the mind she had located. It was similar to the thoughts she had felt from Ambassador Kosh's transport when she had watched it. Back on Babylon 5, her mind hadn't been as powerful as it was now, and all she had detected was a faint echo of what she now felt, more a feeling that anything else. Now though, she felt the full weight of the thoughts and briefly shared in the ship's dreams of flying among the stars. It was an intoxicating dream, almost like a lullaby, and it was only her own shock at discovering another Vorlon vessel on this world that enabled her to break free.

"What was that?" Talia asked, as Susan opened her eyes and shook her head to clear away the after effects of her mental contact with the Vorlon vessel.

"A Vorlon ship I think," Susan replied, rubbing her temples to ease a sudden headache that was developing. She glanced up at Talia with a questioning look on her face "Did you see it?"

"I was scanning you," Talia admitted. "I didn't know Vorlon vessels were alive though."

Susan frowned. "I knew they were based on organic technology, but I didn't think they were actually sentient beings. I used to watch Kosh's ship, but I never felt anything like this before. This was definitely the mind of a intelligent creature."

"Do you think it knew you were there?" Talia asked, sounding worried.

"I don't think so," Susan replied, shaking her head. "It felt like it was asleep, as if it were resting and what I experienced was just a dream. It didn't seem interested in me at all."

"Well at least we know there is something out there now."

"I am not sure that knowledge is going to provide much comfort though," Susan said. "What ever it is out there, it had the Vorlons scared, and even the Shadows didn't do that. I'm not sure I want to meet whatever this creature is."

T he sound of approaching footsteps crunching on the loose rock that made up the clearing cut off any further conversation. Susan looked up and was surprised to find that the person approaching was one of the marines who had gone with Drake earlier. It seemed like it had only been a minute or two since the scouting party had left, but she must have spent a much longer time scanning for the alien watcher than she had though. She didn't allow her surprise to break her composure though, glaring at the marine and asking, "what is it."

"Sergeant Drake sent me to get you, Captain," the marine said with a quick salute. "He said to tell you that he has found the second rover."

Susan leapt to her feet. "He has? Show me at once."

"This way, Captain," the marine said, indicating the path up the valley. "It is only about a five minute walk."

Susan nodded, before looking back to Talia. "Will you be OK waiting here?" she asked.

"I'll be fine," Talia replied. "I need the break, anyway I have the doctor to keep me company." She pointed over her shoulder to where Melis was searching through the forest of mushrooms and other fungi with a scanner in one had and a small collapsible pick in the other.

Susan looked at Melis for several seconds, wondering what he was up to now. Then she nodded slowly. "I will be back as soon as I can," she told Talia, before turning and following the waiting marine along the path.

Beyond the small clearing, the path widened and smoothed out. "It is not far, Captain," the marine. "About a hundred metres down this track, the path splits in two and one fork heads up to the summit of the hill. The sergeant is up there with Bozovic, while Cooper is searching along the other path in case there is anything important along there. She should be nearly back by now though."

Just then the light from a spotlight appeared, its owner obviously heading back towards Susan and her guide. "This could be her now," Susan said, remembering that Private Cooper was one of the marines who had been with her during the examination of the crashed Vorlon transport.

Susan and her guide met up with Cooper at the folk in the path. If the private was surprised to see Susan, she didn't show any sign of it. Instead, she just saluted and said, "nothing in that direction, Captain. The trail peters out after a couple of hundred metres. Obviously it is no longer used."

"Head back to where the others are then," Susan ordered. "Get some rest and something to eat."

"Sounds good to me," Cooper replied with a faint smile. She shouldered her PPG rifle, and with a faint nod to Susan's companion headed back down the trail towards the clearing where the others waited.

Susan turned to her guide. "Is it much further?"

As if in answer to her question, the sound of sergeant Drake's voice reached her ear. She turned around again and stared towards the hill top. Only about fifty metres above her, she could see the sergeant waving his spotlight towards her. "Up here, Captain," he called out. "Just follow the path until it reaches the base of the hill and then take the stairs up the summit.

"Stairs?" Susan asked her guide as she began walking along the right fork in the path.

"That's what they look like," the marine with her said, shrugging his shoulders. "It is almost as if they have been carved out of the rock. Bozovic thought they might be natural, carved by water or something like that. I am not so sure though."

As the stairs came into view, Susan found herself agreeing with her guide. The stairs turned out to be tall steps carved directly from the stone of the hillside. Although they were obviously very old and had been worn away due to erosion and the passage of time, Susan was almost certain that they could not be natural. Given that she had just discovered that there were intelligent alien creatures on this world, she was even more convinced that these stairs were artificial.

At the moment though, who made them was less important than their actual existence. Without them, it would have been almost impossible to make it up the steep slope of the hill. Placing her feet carefully, to avoid slipping on the moss that grew in abundance over the ancient stairs, Susan began to journey up to the summit of the small hill.

"You've found the other rover?" Susan asked, as she clambered up onto the rocky summit where Drake and another marine were scouting the surrounding landscape. They both carried enhanced binoculars which were capable of seeing through the darkness and spotting any source of heat within range.

As soon as she reached the grove of yellow mushrooms where the scouting party had set up their equipment, the sergeant passed her his pair of binoculars. "It is just sitting there," he said, pointing to a distant object. "No sign of anyone nearby either. They could be inside, but I would have thought that they would have set a guard, or at least left a light on."

Susan raised the binoculars to her eyes, quickly activating the zoom and image enhancements. A moment later she was looking down on the silent form of the second IPX rover, standing dejected and mud splattered in the centre of barren field. "The reactor is off line," she noted, after activating the heat sensors on the binoculars. "There doesn't appear to be anyone nearby either. The only thing the heat detector is showing is local plant life."

"Scan twenty degrees to the left," the other marine, private Bozovic, suggested. "There is something very interesting going on there."

Susan slowly turned, so she could see what the marine was looking at. "What the hell..." she muttered as soon as the binoculars focused on the structure the marines had found.

"It appears to be some sort of spire," Drake explained. "Bozovic noticed it shortly after I found the rover."

"There are lot of creatures moving around its base," Susan noted, scanning downwards with the binoculars until they picked up the heat signatures of a large group of creatures. "There isn't enough light to give a good indication of what they are though."

"It could be the Major and the missing crew from the Sturt," Drake suggested. "But you are right, it is too difficult to tell from this distance."

"How far between that spire and the rover?"

"About two hundred metres," Drake replied. "It is open ground in between as well, so anyone at that spire would be able to see the rover and vice versa."

Susan nodded slowly and returned to watching the activity around the tall black spire. With the binoculars it was impossible to get any details about the spire's structure, as it gave out no heat and appeared as a cold, black blot against an equally dark background. It was only the occasional flash of lightning that gave any indication that it existed at all. The display was giving a strong readout on the creatures though, enough to tell her that they were approximately human sized, although at this distance any further details were impossible to pick out.

"So, what do we do, Captain," Drake asked, looking at her for orders.

Handing him back his binoculars, Susan thought for a second before replying. "We rest here for another hour, that should give everyone time to get something to eat and rest their tired muscles. Walking over this rough ground has been tiring on everyone. How far from here to the rover?"

"About two kilometres, although the ground is a lot smoother once we get down the other side of this hill." Drake paused and pointed at the track heading down the other side of the hill. "This path seems to continue on, and it might even go all the way to were the rover."

Susan nodded. "Good, then we can follow it. Once everyone had rested up for a bit, I want to continue on until we reach the rover. I would prefer to be inside it, rather than sitting out in the open. Then, if nothing happens during the night, we can set a guard on the rover and continue on towards that spire. That isn't were the signal was detected from, was it?"

Drake shook his head, pointing off in a completely different direction. "About six more kilometres in that direction. Going to check out the rover actually increases the distance."

"I still think it would be best to examine the rover first. There doesn't appear to be anyone nearby, but there may be some clue as to what happened to Major Logan's team."

"That does seem like the best course of action right now," Drake confirmed.

"Pack up here then, and head back to the clearing."

"We will be along in a minute, Captain."

Susan nodded and after a final glance in the direction of the rover, heading back down the stairs towards the rest of the marines. Back on the summit, Drake and Bozovic spent several minutes packing away the delicate binoculars and scanners in the sergeants pack, before following her. Then they also walked back down the stairs. No-one noticed the silent figure lying beneath a particularly tall mushroom. As soon all the humans had vanished, the scout picked himself up and switched off his recording device. Then, careful not to make any noise, he hurried off down the path towards the construction site, eager to make his report before the aliens could continue their journey. Perhaps now his promotion would not be so far away.

 

* * *

 

Lily awoke slowly, her entire body feeling as though it were on fire. Slowly dragging her eyelids open she stared at the blurry landscape in front of her for a moment before quickly closing them again as her head began to feel woozy and the room began to spin around her. From somewhere nearby a voice called, "it looks like she is awake, doctor." She concentrated on the voice, using it to focus her confused mind. She noted that the speaker had a Russian accent, something the cheered her no end as it meant that it wasn't one of the aliens. They always spoke perfect English, well all except for their leader, Jeanne.

She frowned, remembering the last time she had been awake. She had been in the throne room and had been injured. The facts about how she had come to be injured were still a little hazy, but Lily was sure they would come to her in time. All she remembered for the moment though, was that she had been injured and it had been Jeanne who had healed her. A dull ache began to creep along her forehead, and it was several seconds before she realised that it was the act of frowning that was causing it.

"How are you feeling," the voice asked her. This time Lily recognised that the speaker was male as well as Russian. Confused she tried to remember anyone under her command that fitted that description. "Major Logan?" the voice asked, sounding concerned.

Curious about the identity of the speaker, Lily opened her eyes again, blinking against the glare of the light someone was holding above her. She blinked several more time and her vision began to clear, bringing an unfamiliar face swam into view. It was a handsome face, framed by a mop of curly dark brown hair, which had been allowed to grow much longer than was regulation in the marines. Noticing that Lily was awake, the unfamiliar man's brown eyes lit up and he smiled a friendly tooth-filled smile. "Welcome back to the land of the living," he said cheerfully. "You had us worried for a while there."

After staring blankly at him for several seconds, Lily finally asked, "who are you." 

Her voice came out as a dry croak, but the man seemed to understand her anyway. "Nicolai Luchenko," he said in his annoyingly cheerful voice. "I thought you would remember me from the academy, Lil."

Lily groaned, partly due to the way she felt, but mostly because she finally recognised him. During her days at the academy, Nicolai had also been a student there. Like most of the jobs he had tried in his life, he didn't stick at it for long and he was only attended for a few weeks. That was long enough though to date almost all of the woman in the academy. Lily had been one of the few to resist his charm, which only made him try harder.  "I thought you were going to be a politician," she muttered.

"Not as exciting as this, Lil," Nicolai said, still smiling. He dug a hand into a pocket and pulled out a large chunk of stone, which Lily recognised as an enormous uncut ruby. "Take a look at this beauty, and there a thousands more like it, just waiting to be dug out of the ground."

Lily had a sudden flash of understanding, realising what Jeanne had been talking about when she had said that the prisoners were working the mines without any encouragement from her guards. If they were mining gemstones of the same quality as the one Nicolai was holding, then it made perfect sense. Further thoughts on the subject were halted though, as another unknown figure pushed himself into her field of view. "Hello, Major Logan," the middle aged man said gently. "I am Dr. Abbado. I was the ship's doctor on the Sturt, now I am trying to keep everyone here healthy."

"How am I doing then?" she asked, her voice beginning to regain some of its strength. She still felt terrible though, and every time she made even the slightest movement a jolt of pain ran down the limb she was attempting to move.

"Now that is an interesting question," Abbado said, his bushy eyebrows arching upwards as he studied the readout on a medical scanner he held in his left hand. "According to this data you are extremely lucky to be alive. There is an indication of damage to your heart muscle, although somehow it has been repaired. You have also been infected with an unknown virus and I can't even begin to make a judgement on what that is doing to you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it is proving very difficult to pick up the virus with these instruments," Abbado explained. "The scanner is reading a foreign compound in your blood, but when I try to get specifics about its effects, or even its general structure, it can't find anything. It is almost ghost-like, there, but at the same time, not really there. There is nothing I can do about it, so if it proves to be deadly, then I don't think I will be able to stop its effects. Fortunately though, it doesn't seem to have had any negative effect so far, at least none that I can register." He stopped and stared at the scanner again, before continuing. "Have you been exposed to anything that might have done this?" he asked, looking back down at Lily.

Lily closed her eyes for a second and began to sort through her memories. Since waking up fully a lot more had come back to her. Images of a sword piercing her chest, and then a worried looking girl bending over her flooded back. "I think she might have done something to me," Lily said finally. "She said that she healed me and I wondered what she meant. Perhaps this virus is what she used."

Abbado nodded, and began fiddling with his instruments again. Next to the doctor, Nicolai stared at Lily with a confused look on his face. "Her?" he asked.

"Jeanne," Lily replied. "That psychopathic witch who runs this whole place. She stabbed me and then tried to claim that it was my fault."

"Jeanne," Nicolai mused. "Is she the one that the aliens call 'The Mistress'?"

Lily nodded in confirmation. "Yes," she said. "They all seem to treat her as though she is some sort of god, but as far as I can work out, she is a human who was taken from Earth several hundred years ago and altered by the Vorlons. I don't really understand all of what she told me, but I think she might have got off side with the Vorlons for some reason and they imprisoned her here. I don't really remember much more than that."

"That's more than I knew before," Nicolai said. "Everyone here has been curious about this Mistress character, ever since we were first bought here. All the aliens do is talk about her. It is always the Mistress this, and the Mistress that, when you try to talk to them. They way they discuss her, it is as if she were their goddess."

"They may think she is, but believe me, she is definitely no goddess," Lily replied, pulling herself up until she rested on her elbows. She realised that she was in a small room, a little smaller than the cell they had placed her in when she had first arrived at this place, but still comfortable enough to big enough to accommodate several people comfortably. Apart from Nicolai and Dr. Abbado, there were also another five people in the room, or standing nearby. Two she recognised immediately as Hawke and Anderson, the two marine who had been with her on the rover. The others were unfamiliar, so she assumed they must be crew from the Sturt.

Noticing that Lily was looking at him, a short, stocky man dressed in a torn and dirty flight suit stepped forward. "I am Jeremy Curran, the Sturt's first officer, and this is Stefano Candelli, the security officer and Janet Petrilli, the IPX team leader."

"How did you all get here?" Lily asked, staring at each of them in turn. They didn't looks like they were in poor health so however long they had been here, they had obviously been treated well. Their clothes, however, where another matter all together. With the exception of Dr. Petrilli, everyone's clothing was covered with a film of white dust. Obviously they had all been busy working in the mines.

"I would imagine that we arrived here much the same way you did," Curran replied. "Shortly after we ended up in that swamp, the Captain sent us out to take a look around and that is when they pounced on us. I'm not sure exactly how long it has been, but we have been here for at least three weeks."

Lily nodded, pulling herself up into a sitting position. It was then that she noticed that her uniform was gone and in its place was an old black robe, almost identical to the one Jeanne had been wearing. "Where is my uniform?" she asked, fingering the robe with a slightly disgusted look on her face.

"Over there," Nicolai said, pointing to a small table near the entrance where her uniform lay, all neatly folded as though it had just been cleaned. "They bought it in a couple of hours ago. Said something about the Mistress wanting her robe back too. Anything you want to tell us about, Lil."

As Lily scowled at Nicolai, Curran cut in. "Actually anything you can tell us about this Jeanne would be useful. We don't know a lot, only what Dr. Petrilli told us from her meeting."

Lily nodded. "I don't know a lot. However, I can tell you it is impossible to kill her. I know, I tried. She heals almost as quickly as she is wounded."

"Why were you trying to kill her?" Nicolai asked her. "That doesn't sound like the Lillian I knew."

"Stop using my first name," Lily snarled at him. "You will address me as Major Logan, as I seem to be the highest ranking Earthforce officer here."

"The only Earthforce officer here," Curran reminded her. "Everyone else is a civilian and so they are not really used to the military discipline. We then to keep things fairly informal around here. Why don't we wait outside while you change. When you are ready, I can show you around."

"See you later, Lil," Nicolai said, putting on his most charming smile, before ducking out of the room before she could turn on him again.

"Are you sure you are ready to get up?" Dr. Abbado asked, looking concerned for her. "Only minutes ago you were out cold and I thought you were going to die."

"I will be fine," Lily replied, waving a hand towards the door.

"Good to have you back, Major," Hawke said as he left, quickly followed by the everyone else.

As soon as the door had spiralled shut, Lily swung her legs over the edge of the bed and tried to get to her feet. As soon as her feet touched the ground pain shot up both legs. She gritted her teeth and forced to herself to stand, noticing to her surprise that the pain slowly faded away after a couple of minutes. It was as if her body hadn't been used for some time and she had to force herself to move.

Walking stiffly across to the table where her uniform waited she tore off the robe and tossed it away, noting that at least the aliens who had dressed her had left her underwear on. Picking up her shirt, she noticed that it was still slightly stained in one spot, obviously where her blood had flowed out of the wound. She glanced down and noticed that there was only a faint scar left to remind her of the wound that had nearly killed her. She didn't know how Jeanne had healed her, but it had certainly done a good job.

Staring closely at her shirt, she noticed that it had been repaired as well, the gash where Jeanne's sword had cut through the thin material, almost invisible now. Whoever had sewn it back together had been a real expert. Pulling it on, she quickly buttoned it up and picked up the rest of her uniform. As quickly as she could, she dressed, ignoring the occasional jolts of pain that occurred when she bent over or made any sudden movements. Then, after making sure her Earthforce insignia was straight, she opened the door and left the small cell.

E veryone who had been in her room, along with several new arrivals, were waiting for her outside. Before anyone could say anything, Lily jumped in asking, "is there anything to eat around here?"

Curran nodded. "There is a mess hall at the end of the hall. They provide us with all the food and water we want. The water tastes a bit funny though, and the food is rather bland. You can eat it though, no-one has come down sick yet anyway."

"Right now I just want something to eat," Lily told him. "I don't care what it taste likes."

"This way then," Curran said, sweeping his hand in towards the left end of the hall.

"The rest of you can get back to what ever you were doing," Lily ordered, when she noticed that everyone else was about to follow her and Curran. "I will be around in a while to examine our situation." Then she looked at the two marines. "Hawke, I want you to scout out the exits to this place. Look for any way we might be able to escape. Anderson, see what we have in the way of tools. This is a mine, so there should be drills or laser cutters around her somewhere. We might be able to use those as weapons."

"Right away, Major," the two marines said, almost in unison, before staring at each other and then hurrying off to carry out their orders.

"I can save them the trouble," Curran said, as they began the short journey down towards the mess hall. "We've already had a thorough look around, and there is only one way out of this mine… the front door. And that is heavily guarded. There are always at least ten guards there at once, and beyond that there is a large barracks were there are even more guards. I was talking to one of the aliens last week and after I explained the concept of an army to him, he told me that over quarter of their population serves as warriors or scouts."

"Interesting," Lily replied, examining the metallic walls of the corridor as they walked.

"And the tools we were given are extremely basic," the Sturt's first officer continued. "All we have are picks and shovels, nothing that would be any use against those creatures."

"They cut through rock don't they?" Lily asked.

"Yes, but..."

"Then they will do," she said firmly.

"We are not soldiers, Major," Curran argued. "Most of the prisoners here are just scientists and quite frankly we don't want to do anything that might upset the guards. We have been getting along quite nicely with them, and they have treated us badly or anything like that."

Lily spun on him and, gripping the front of his dusty flight suit in both hands, lifted Curran off the ground and pushed him against the wall of the corridor. "I don't care if they bring you morning tea each day," she snarled. "I am not going to give that bitch the comfort of knowing she has beaten me." Then she frowned, as if the strength her anger provided had surprised her. Carefully lowering Curran back down to the ground she turned and continued back down the corridor. After noticing that Curran wasn't following her, she turned back and said, "besides, I don't think I could last more than a couple of days with Mr. Luchenko."

"He does have somewhat of an annoying personality," Curran agreed, rejoining Lily. "However, ever since we found out what they wanted us to mine here, he has been busy in the mines every day. Most of us have put aside quite a nice stash of gems by now."

"That is what she wants you to do," Lily explained. "She is letting you keep part of what you mine to keep you happy. A happy slave won't try and escape quite as often."

"It's not like that," Curran tried to argue. "No-one is a slave here. If we didn't want to work, then we don't have to."

"You don't even know you are a slave," Lily snorted, as she pushed open the door to the mess hall. There were two other prisoners in the mess hall, one of them Lily recognised as Laura Altmann, one of the IPX scientists who had been on her rover. She didn't stop to say hello though, instead she pointed to them and then jerked her thumb in the direction of the doorway. "Everyone out," she ordered. "This is a private conference, come back later." The two scientist took one look at the fiery glare in Lily's eyes and then ran for the door.

"Was that really necessary?" Curran asked, as Lily poured herself a jug of water and collected a plate of food. "What we are about to say is hardly private or anything."

Instead of replying, Lily simply said, "God, I'm thirsty." She put the plate of food down on a table and began to gulp down water directly from the jug. She discovered that Curran was right, the water did have a strange taste, but to her it was like the sweetest wine. She couldn't remember the last time she had had anything to drink and all she knew was that she was incredibly thirsty and had to drink something. Before she knew it, the entire jug was empty.

"Are you all right," Curran asked, looking shocked and disgusted at the same time.

"I have never felt better," Lily replied, as she placed the now empty jug back on the table with a satisfied gasp. "All I needed was something to drink."

"But... a whole jug? You will only make yourself sick."

"I said I am fine," Lily said. "Now sit down. We have to discuss our escape plan."

"What's the use of trying to escape," Curran muttered as he took a seat opposite Lily, who was busy shovelling chunks of some sort of plant root into her mouth.

"This is really nice stuff," Lily exclaimed between mouthfuls. She munched on another chunk and chewed it experimentally, as if trying to determine its taste. "It could do with a little salt though," she decided.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Major," Curran demanded.

Lily put down the fork she had been using as glared at him. "Look, I haven't had anything to eat or drink in at least ten hours, probably twice that. I have been stabbed, nearly killed, and finally poked by that doctor of yours. So you will forgive me if my actions seem a little strange, but I need to regain my strength for the escape attempt."

"And I said there is not going to be an escape attempt," Curran snarled, losing his temper at last. "You can't just waltz in here, take over, and then order everyone to risk their lives because you order it. We are best just waiting here for a rescue."

Lily looked at Curran as if he was something that she had just scraped off her shoe. Carefully pushing her plate to one side, she leaned forward and grabbed the first officer by the front of his flight suit. Then in low, precise tones, she said, "I am your rescue. If you sit here waiting for someone else, then you are going to be here for the rest of your life. So you are going to start doing what I say, or I will have you confined to quarters."

"I am not out of your grunts," Curran managed to get out, although his collar was beginning to squeeze his neck and it was becoming difficult to breath.

Lily released her grasp and allowed Curran to slump back into his chair. "That's right, you're not," she agreed. "Each one of my soldiers is worth twenty times one or you civilian fools. Men like Hawke and Anderson know how to follow orders and they aren't going to just give up and let some psychopath imprison them. We are going to get out of here and you are going to help us."

"Very well," Curran said with a defeated sigh. "I don't suppose you would like to fill me in on exactly how we are going to escape."

"Easy," Lily said with a broad smile. "We are going to dig our way out."

"You can't be serious," Curran spluttered.

"Why? We have all the tools here, you said so yourself. Obviously I wouldn't try to fight my way out, not with a bunch of civilians to look after. So we will have to dig a tunnel out of this place."

"But, we don't know which way to dig. For all we know, it could be solid rock in all direction. And what happens if we strike an underground river?"

"Then we all die," Lily replied. "But, doing something is better than sitting here and doing what she wants. Bring everyone in here, I want to talk to them. We have to work out a plan, as well a roster for working. We also need to set up guards to make sure none of her minions find out what we are doing."

"As you wish, Major," Curran said, getting up out of his chair. "I still think this is a stupid idea and is probably going to get us killed."

"When we escape you can tell my superiors that I recklessly endangered your lives if you wish. But, right now I want everyone doing what I order. We are going to get out of this prison, or we are going to die in the attempt."

Shaking his head sadly, Curran left the mess hall to gather the rest of the prisoners. Behind him, Lily smiled, before turning back to her meal. All trace of the pain she had felt when she first awoke was gone, and now all that was left was a feeling of euphoria and power. It was as if every cell in her body was truly alive for the first time in her life, and her body felt charged with energy. "I am going to show you," she muttered to herself, as she bit down on another chunk of the bland vegetable. "There has to be a way out of this place and I am going to find it. After all, you can't use us as hostages if we have all escaped."

 

* * *

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER EIGHT

* * *

 

It was early morning on Arias, although that fact didn't really mean a lot to those living beneath the dark storm cloud that dominated the jungle moon's weather patterns. To the Arisians working slavishly to build the latest of the Mistress' energy collection towers, it was simply a way of marking time. As the sun rose above the world again, it marked the end of the previous day and also the changing over of shifts at the construction site.

Amazingly, a day on Arias was almost exactly equal to eight Earth hours, which meant that there were three Arisian days to one Earth day. Unfortunately though, when Jeanne had first introduced the idea of time and hours to the Arisians, they took the idea to heart and began to work out the difference between Earth and Arias time down to the nearest second. Since each day there were approximately two seconds difference between the two and the Arisian artisans working on constructing clocks could not be anything less than precise, a small war nearly erupted out of the arguments over those two seconds. Finally everyone had settled on the idea of leap minute, which occurred once every thirty days and marked the end of the Arisian week. It also neatly divided the week into three days of work, three of walking to and from work, or extra rest depending on the rank of the individual involved, three days of sleep and one day of rest.

Of course, none of this mattered at all to Susan's party, who were currently watching the construction site from the safety of rock strewn hill top high above the construction site. All they were aware of, was that one group of aliens was just arriving at the site, while another was packing up their tools and preparing to depart.

"What do you think this place is for," Sergeant Drake whispered to Jack Melis, who was lying in the patch of toadstools next to him.

"Could be many things," Melis replied, staring at the construction site through a pair of powerful binoculars. "My first guess was that it is some sort of temple or monolith. But, now that I have had a closer look, I will have to reject my initial hypothesis."

"So what do you think now then."

Melis clicked his tongue several times, considering the question before answering. "A power station," he said finally.

"What?" Drake said incredulously, forgetting for a moment to keep his voice down.

"A power station," Melis replied. He pointed towards something standing near the spire and handed the binoculars over to Drake. "Take a look at what's on that cart."

Drake bought the binoculars up to his eyes and quickly focused on the area Melis had pointed it. The cart he had mention was a fifty metre long tray of metal, with several sets of small wheels beneath and four gigantic horned beetles milling around in front of it, obviously providing its motive power. "I don't see anything out of the ordinary," Drake muttered, sounding annoyed at his failure to see whatever it was that had excited Melis.

"Take a closer look at the objects on the back of the cart," Melis urged.

"OK, I see them," the marine replied. "I don't know what they are supposed to be, but I see them."

Melis sighed in frustration. "Didn't you ever see that documentary on the old Earth space stations?"

Drake shook his head. "I have never really been fond of documentaries," he admitted.

After another sigh, Melis looked over at the marine and frowned, trying to think of a way to explain what he had just discovered so the obviously thick marine could understand it. "Well, on those stations they had folding solar panels. Those objects on that cart down there look almost identical. I would bet my hat that is what they are. That whole structure is a gigantic solar power station."

"This place doesn't exactly receive a lot of light from the sun," Drake said, pointing out the flaw in Melis' hypothesis. "In fact, I don't think I would be stretching the truth too far if I said it doesn't get any at all."

"I admit I am still working out the details," Melis said, snatching back his binoculars and continuing his observations. "This isn't really my field of expertise though, so I can't be expect to know everything."

"What exactly is your field of expertise, Doctor?" the Sergeant asked.

"I'm an archaeologist," Melis told him. "But, I have also spent long enough with other scientists that I have picked up quite a lot. And my instincts tell me that structure is a power station."

"Will you two shut up," Susan whispered urgently from the top of the ridge. "This is supposed to be a covert reconnaissance, not a debate."

"Sorry, Captain," Drake whispered back. "We were just discussing the threat provided by this structure."

"Can you tell me what it is?" Susan asked. "Or what those creatures are down there."

Melis crawled back up the hill to where Susan, Talia and the five remaining marines were waiting. The other three marines, along with most of their equipment were waiting back at the second rover, which was currently being repaired in case it was needed on the return journey. "I think the structure could be some sort of power station," Melis told her, as soon as he made it safely back onto the ridge. "As for the creatures, they could be a native life form. There are several irregularities though."

"Such as?"

Melis pointed out a large cylinder which was busy belching thick black smoke into the atmosphere. "Take that engine for instance..."

"That's an engine?" Susan interrupted.

"It's a very basic combustion engine," Melis confirmed. "I know it doesn't look much, but it has a lot of lifting power. The question it raises though, is why they need it at all. It is obvious by the design of the tower itself, along with the advanced technology they are sticking in that thing, that these creatures have access to technology way in advance of an old style combustion engine."

"Perhaps that is the best they can manage," Susan suggested. "If this is a power station, then maybe they don't have the energy to run their other machines. They might be building this structure to power them."

"That is a possibility," Melis admitted. "But then there is the matter of their weapons. Their soldiers are still using spears and swords, which doesn't make a lot of sense if they have this sort of technology available to them. Surely they must have some sort of projectile weapons, a slug thrower at the very least."

Susan shrugged. "That is a little weird," she said. "Although considering the number of those creatures down there, I am not overly concerned by it at the moment. I would prefer to be the only one on the planet with energy weapons. If we do get involved in a battle that fact might just give us a reasonable chance of success."

"The question that worries me, is why we haven't encountered any guards yet," Sergeant Drake said as he hauled his bulky frame over the small bank of rocks and into the small depression where the others were hiding. "Any race as advanced as these, should have guards posted. I don't believe for a minute that they don't know we are here. It's very likely that they are responsible for the disappearance of the Sturt's crew, not to mention Major Logan and her team."

"There is no sign of them down there?" Susan asked.

"Not a trace," Drake confirmed. "Just hundreds of those alien critters. There is a road that leads north from here though. It is possible that the road leads to some major settlement. If these critters did grab the Major, then that is where she will be, assuming she is still alive."

"Hopefully, that message we received earlier means that she is," Susan said, not wanting everyone to lose hope yet. "According to the map, it is about another five kilometres north to the place from where the message was sent. That would fit perfectly with what you just suggested about the road. If we set out now we should be there around midday."

"Do we take the road or carry along the top of this hill?" Talia asked, looking longingly at the smooth surface of the alien road.

"I am afraid we are going stick to this ridge," Susan replied, glancing over at Talia with a comforting smile on her face. "But we will take it easy. I don't think I am used to this sort of exercise either." She looked back at Drake, who was picking dried mud off the side of his PPG rifle. "Is everyone ready, Sergeant?"

Drake looked up, and then nodded. "Ready to go, Captain."

"Good," she replied. "Everyone grab your packs then, we've got a long way to walk and not much time to do it in." Amid the chorus of groans, Susan walked over to help Talia to her feet, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed among the rest of the rescue party. "Hopefully, they will be able to get the rover started," she told the tired telepath. "That will mean that we don't have to walk as far on the way back."

"I think I will survive," Talia replied, allowing Susan to help her back to her feet.

Susan nodded and then, catching some of the marines staring at her and Talia, glared at them. She quickly shouldered her own pack and walked back to the head of the small procession. A minute later they all set out, trudging along the narrow ridge. With the aliens so close by, lights were out of the question and it was slow progress as everyone had to be careful to avoid starting a rock slide. Fortunately though, the next hour of the journey passed uneventfully and after the great spire fell away into the background, Susan ordered lights activated. Then, after another short rest, the rescue party set off again, heading towards whatever awaited them at the end of the road.

 

* * *

 

Jeanne sighed with pleasure, stretching out her arms and allowing the warm water to caress every part of her tired body. The mixture of exotic Ariasian bathing oils alternatively stung and soothed her skin, leaving her body tingling and alive. She so rarely took the time for a bath lately, that it had become a rare luxury, reserved for the few times that she was alone. In less an hour, she would be meeting with General Azrak, but until then she could relax and enjoy herself, something that she almost never took the time to do any more.

Allowing herself to slip fully beneath the water, she closed her eyes so the oils wouldn't sting her eyes. Not needing to breath had its advantages, she thought, running her hands through her long hair. Let loose from the tight braid that had imprisoned it, her hair floated all around her as she closed her eyes and settled onto the bottom of the huge bath. She lay there for another ten minutes, just enjoying the warmth of the water. A normal person would have surfaced, needing to breath, but Jeanne felt comforted and protected under the cleansing oils and three feet of water.

The water was drawn from the underground lake beneath the city, where it was warmed by the river of lava that flowed beneath this part of the world. It had been almost boiling when she had first stepped into the bath, but her Vorlon-enhanced body soon drained away that heat. She could have pumped in more water, but her conscience was beginning to get to her. For each bath she took, an entire section of the city had to do without power for several minutes, as the pump hauled the water up from deep beneath the earth.

Finally, as a chill began to settle into the now cold water, Jeanne sat up, water cascading down her back and dripping from her soaked hair. Hauling herself out of the bath, she stepping onto the cold tiles of the bathroom floor. One of her servants quickly handed her a fluffy towel, which she took with some relish. The towel was made from a reed that grew in the western swamps. It was soft and warm, and also soaked up water at an incredible rate. Jeanne wrapped her arms around it, and hugged it tight, enjoying the way it warmed her and took away the chill.

Two other servants began to dry the rest of her body, while another dried her long hair. As soon as she was fully dry, Jeanne wrapped the towel around her body and stepped through the door that led into her bedroom, one of the servants remaining behind to drain the bath and clean up the room. Standing next to her bed, the head of the servants, Harj, awaited her. With a sigh of contentment, Jeanne sat down on the soft bed and allowed the servant to begin work on her hair.

"Are you well, Mistress," Harj asked, as she ran the brush through Jeanne's long hair.

"I feel better," Jeanne replied. "I am still weak though. The encounter with Major Logan has left me a lot weaker than I thought. The injuries I sustained have healed, but their effects still remain. If I had access to unlimited energy it would be nothing, but I don't, so I feel the effects of every wound I suffer."

"She was an evil creature," Harj muttered, putting aside the brush and beginning to carefully braid Jeanne's hair.

"Not evil," Jeanne said admonishingly. "Just misguided. She thought that the best way to help her friends was to threaten me. She was wrong, and nearly died for her error."

"She should have know better than to challenge you, Mistress."

Jeanne didn't reply. Part of her agreed with Harj and felt angry at the way Lily had challenged her authority and tried to injure her. The other, larger part, felt comforted by the fact that there were still someone that would stand up to her. Jeanne knew that the Vorlons had altered her to become an all powerful leader, the secret weapon in their never-ending war with the dark ones. She wasn't supposed to be resisted, people were supposed to follow her orders without question. Of course, in her current condition she wasn't as powerful as the Vorlons had originally planned, but the way Lily had responded, made her feel that there might still be some hope for her. She needed the challenge in her life, something to keep her going. Blind obedience did become boring after a while.

"I am finished, Mistress," Harj said, interrupting Jeanne's musings.

Jeanne ran her hand across her head, pleased that Harj had done a perfect job, as usual. She stood, allowing her neatly braided hair to fall behind her. The end of the braid came to rest somewhere around her knees, where it tickled the bare flesh of her leg. She frowned, remembering that once she had kept her hair short, cut in an almost boyish style. Then it had been necessary, now she just couldn't be bothered cutting it. For a second she considered cutting it short again, but quickly dismissed that idea. She needed all the weapons at her disposal and right now her beauty was one of her most important weapons. Cutting her hair short might make it easier to handle, but she had always thought it made her look gawky.

"Shall I bring your robe?" Harj asked, interrupting Jeanne's train of thought for a second time in as many minutes.

"No," Jeanne replied, pointing towards a large package that lay on the floor near the bed. "I think it is time to try on artisan Uijan's creation."

"As you wish, Mistress," Harj replied with a bow, feeling her way across to where the unfamiliar package lay. Although she knew the lay out of the room by hand, it took her nearly a minute to retrieve the package Jeanne had indicated. She had not seen where her Mistress had pointed to, but remembered one of the other servants leaving it lying somewhere on the far side of the room. Eventually locating the package, she picked it up and bought it over to Jeanne, who quickly pulled off the thin layer of wrapping paper and unfolded the garment that lay within.

"It's beautiful," Jeanne breathed softly, running the delicate material through her fingers. She unfolded the gown to its full length and lay it out on the bed, observing it, but making no move to put it on. "Remind me to commend Uijan on her work."

"She did a good job on your clothing?" Harj queried, feeling about on the bed for the gown.

"She did an incredible job," Jeanne said. "In fact, I don't think I have ever owned anything this nice before. This will do very nicely for what I have in mind." Not bad for someone who was blindfolded when making the measurements anyway, Jeanne thought to herself.

"I am pleased, Mistress. Uijan's apprentice said that the other clothing you ordered will be ready soon and she asked if you wished anything more from the Artisan?"

"Tell her that I may need some more gowns like this one," Jeanne replied, picking up the beautiful dress before Harj could touch it and holding it up against her body to check the fit. Finding it was a perfect fit, just as she knew it would be, she let her towel drop to the ground and quickly pulled the gown over her head, letting the folds of cloth settle on the ground with a soft swishing sound.

Hearing Jeanne pulling on the gown, Harj walked around behind her and helped button up the back of the gown. She remembered what the apprentice had told her about the new clothing and was eager to help her Mistress' enjoyment. Although completely blind, her nimble fingers quickly located the emerald buttons and quickly slipped them through the buttonholes. Once that was done, she smoothed out the back of the gown, wondering why anyone would want to wear so much cloth.

Jeanne smoothed out the folds of the gown and then walked across to look at herself in the mirror. Then she frowned, realising that the effect she wanted wasn't quite there. The gown itself was perfect, the beautiful white and pink cloth combing with a generous amount of gemstones to creature a picture of pure elegance and purity. Her hair however, didn't fit the image she wanted to project. Tightly braided as it was, it didn't match her new clothing. "I need to change my hairstyle," she muttered to herself.

Harj, who's perfect hearing could pick up the sound of a pin dropping at a hundred paces, caught her words. "Change?" she asked cautiously, remembering the years of work it had taken her to learn how to braid her Mistress' hair. "Why does it need changing."

"Bring me the brush," Jeanne demanding, quickly undoing the braid with her fingers, and spreading her hair out. Realising that it still didn't look right, she reached down and picked up a pair of dusty scissors. It had been nearly fifty years since she had last cut her hair, but the scissors, made of the same metal as everything else in her city, were still just as sharp as ever. Five quick snips later and two thirds of her hair lay on the floor.

"Mistress?" Harj asked, her ears picking up both at the sound of the scissors and the noise the hair made as it fell to the floor.

"The brush," Jeanne demanded, reaching back behind her.

Harj quickly pushed it into her hands, and Jeanne ran it through her now shoulder length hair several times before standing back and looking at the effect in the mirror. It's not perfect, she thought, brushing aside a few out of place strands. Picking up the scissors again she snipped off a bit more of her hair and then smoothed it out with the brush. Then she nodded, pleased with her rather rough efforts. "Not bad," she muttered. "It might just work."

"What is that, Mistress," Harj asked, feeling a little left out as she couldn't see what Jeanne was talking about, or why she was acting so strangely. For a moment she almost reached out and felt Jeanne's hair to see what all the fuss was about, but pulled herself back at the last moment, just in case her Mistress didn't want her to do that.

Jeanne didn't reply. Instead she clasped her hands in front of her, almost as if she were praying, and allowed a pleading look to come over her face. "Please, you must help me," she said, in a voice full of emotion. "I am all alone here, you can't leave me here like this."

"Mistress?" Harj cried. "What is the matter."

Jeanne looked at her, as if realising that the servant was here for the first time. "Nothing," she replied quickly. "I was just trying out something." She brushed a few stray strands of hair off the shoulders of her gown and look in the mirror again, smiled to herself as she realised that she had finally achieved the look she had been wanting. "Not bad at all," she mused, straightening out the bodice of her gown.

Harj still looked concerned, but fortunately another of Jeanne's servants chose that moment to arrive. "Mistress," the servant said, bowing low. "I apologise for disturbing you, but General Azrak awaits you in the throne room. He said that he has the latest reports from the scouts. I would not have bothered you, but he seemed rather concerned about the information the reports contain. He was most insistent that I summon you."

"No doubt," Jeanne muttered, a smile breaking out on her face. Then she became more serious and turned to face the servant. "Return and tell him I will be down to see him shortly."

The servant nodded hurriedly and almost ran out of the room. Jeanne turned to Harj and smiled again. "Well, Harj," she said. "It is time to go to war."

"But, Mistress," Harj argued. "Your sword is still being repaired."

"Not that sort of war," Jeanne chuckled. "I am talking about a psychological war. I am going to convince a nice Human commander to do me a favour. If he doesn't agree to swap my freedom for the prisoners, then there is always other methods I can try."

"I am sure this Human will agree to your demands, Mistress," Harj said confidently.

"Perhaps," Jeanne mused as she headed out of the bedroom and towards the staircase leading down into her throne room. "But just in case, I need to be prepared for every eventuality."

"I see," Harj replied. "Is there anything you need me to do then?"

Jeanne looked back at the pile of hair lying on the floor of her bedroom. "Clean up this room," she ordered. "I will be busy for the next couple of days, so once you are finished here you may have that time off."

"You are most kind, Mistress," Harj said, bowing low as Jeanne swept out of the room, her gown brushing lightly against the surface of the floor.

Leaving her quarters behind her, Jeanne started down the stair, remembering at the last moment to darken the air around her and hide herself from Azrak. She didn't like having to hide away while wearing her new gown, but until she regained all her powers she had no choice. Once she had bathed in the sunlight for a few hours, nothing would be able to harm her and it didn't matter what the General thought. Until then though, she still had to be careful.

"Mistress," Azrak said, as she came down the stairs. "I have the latest reports from the scouts here." He held out a large sheet of paper and two recording devices.

She took them from him, and quickly scanned the summery of the information that had been written on the paper. "Interesting," she mused, as she took her seat on the throne.

"As you can see, another group of aliens is coming closer to the fortress," Azrak said, shuffling nervously. "As per your instructions, we have not interfered in their passage, but they are coming very close now. The last report stated that they had pasted the first tower and were following the road in this direction."

"Good," Jeanne said, tossing the paper aside and looking at the recorders.

"I thought that you would want us to stop them, before they found a way into the fortress. They might try to free the prisoners."

"I am sure that is their aim," Jeanne replied, looking up from the recorder and noticing how worried Azrak was for the first time. "Do not worry, General, I have no intention of allowing them to free the prisoners. Gather a legion of your best guards and intercept the Humans just before they try to enter the fortress."

"I will go and stop them at once, Mistress," Azrak said, sounding relieved.

Jeanne shook her head. "You do not understand," she said. "I only want them stopped when they are about to enter the city. Allow them to get close and then invite them in to meet with me."

"Meet with you," Azrak said, his eye ridges gathering up into a frown. "Is that wise? The last one tried to kill you. These new aliens have many weapons and are almost all are warriors. I would not want you to be injured."

"Was I injured before?" Jeanne asked. When Azrak shook his head, she smiled and continued. "I want them to look around at the city, the fortress and everything else first. Once they have seen what they are up against they will be more pliable to my suggestions. Leave them alone until they are about to try and enter the city and then stop them. But remember, I do not want them injured or captured. I want you to invite them to meet me, not force them."

Azrak frowned again. "Invite, Mistress?"

Jeanne sighed in frustration. "Yes invite," she replied. Thinking quickly, she remembered something that she had seen on one of the interstellar networks a couple of months ago. "I will retrieve a file from the archive," she told the General. "I want you and your warriors to watch it. Observe how the Humans invite one another to go somewhere. Then use the same technique on our visitors."

"Yes, Mistress," Azrak said brightly. "I will obey."

"Good," she replied, turning her attention back to the recorder. "Now please go, I have other things to do."

"Yes, Mistress," Azrak repeated, bowing low, before withdrawing as quickly as he could.

As soon as the great throne room doors had clicked shut behind him, Jeanne allowed the light around her body to return to normal. Then she activated the monitor above her and quickly searched through the archive until she found the program she was looking for. Then, she unloaded it to the barracks, trusting the Azrak would follow her orders and watch it. That done, she turned back to the recorder, quickly coming to the conclusion that most of the images recorded were useless due to the poor quality and the dismal light conditions outside the city.

Soon growing bored with the images displayed on the recorder, Jeanne dropped it down next to the throne, and turned her attention back to the monitor. A few well worded phrases and the screen changed to show the mines where the prisoners were being kept. She wanted to check in and see how Major Logan was doing. It had been some time since the injured woman had been taken to the mines, and she wanted to make sure that she was still alive.

Not finding Lily in any of the living quarters, Jeanne quickly flicked through the other cameras. There were some prisoners in the mess hall, for some reason all were looking a lot more tired than normal, but no sign of Lily. Another change of camera, and Jeanne was looking over the mine itself. She noticed at once that several of the humans were clustered around a newly dug tunnel leading into the wall. Two were pushing one of the mining carts out of the tunnel, and she noted that it was loaded down with chunks of broken rock. Obviously either Major Logan had organised the humans into an escape attempt, or they had all suddenly become very interested in mining.

Not overly concerned by the prisoner's actions, Jeanne made a few quick mental calculations and compared the results to the reports from the scouts that Azrak had bought her earlier. Satisfied that Lily couldn't arrange an escape before her own business with the rescue ship's commanding officer was complete, Jeanne switched off the monitor. She could have ordered the guards to stop the digging in an instant, but decided that there was no harm in allowing them to escape. She would have to release them eventually anyway, and if they escaped then it saved her the trouble. Even if her talks with Major Logan's commander went badly, there was nothing to worry about. The tunnel the prisoners were digging was heading straight towards the great canyon west of the palace. Due to its importance, that area was well guarded and there was no way they could escape... unless she allowed them to, of course.

 

* * *

 

Lily paused for a second to mop her brow, wiping away some of the sweat that had been threatening to run into her eyes. She rested her pick on the ground and looked around at the tunnel they were digging. The work had been proceeding at an incredible rate, much faster than she had originally imagined possible. It had taken two hours to convince everyone in the mines of need to escape and then another full hour to set up a roster for the digging and decide where to begin the excavation. But, now that they had actually started work, they had cut nearly thirty metres of tunnel in less than two hours.

That incredible effort had been mainly due to two factors. One was Lily's enthusiasm for the project, which was starting to rub off on the other prisoners. The other factor was the picks they were using. When Curran had first mention picks, Lily had conjured up an image of old steel implements that would barely cut through limestone, let alone the hard granite-like rock the mine's walls were made of. Instead, she had been handed a pick made of some alien metal, apparently the same metal as the rest of the alien city, although it had been hardened and sharpened. The result was a razor sharp cutting tool that sliced through the rock walls as if they were as soft as butter.

Picking up the pick again she swung it downward, slicing deeply into the rock face. The rock splintered under the blow, and several large chunks tumbled to the ground. Lily smiled at the ease she was cutting this tunnel. The rock might look incredibly hard, but when it was struck with a solid enough blow, it broke up very easily indeed. In fact, the digging was proceeding so well that she had decided to widen the tunnel and make it possible for two people to work side by side. While it meant that the tunnel would take a little longer to complete, it did make access a lot easier.

Right now though, she was alone. Jeremy Curran had been working alongside her, but he had left a few minutes ago, saying that he was tired and need a rest. For some reason, Lily hadn't felt the same way. She had been working for nearly two hour straight, but so far had suffered no ill effects. She still felt as fresh as she had when she had first begun digging, with no trace of the crippling pain and exhaustion that had gripped her when she had woken up in her small room in the living section.

She lifted the pick again, eager to get on with the digging, but a scraping noise behind her distracted it her. Thinking it was her new digging partner, Lily lowered the pick and turned around. It came as something of a surprise to see the short, stocky figure of the Sturt's doctor standing behind her. "What are you doing here, Doctor," she asked. "Aren't you supposed to be looking after the sick, or something like that."

"I'm here because I am worried about you, Major, we all are."

Lily looked confused. "Why should you be worried about me? I feel fine. In fact, I haven't felt this good in a long, long time."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Abbado replied, holding out a medical scanner for Lily to examine. "I have just done a quick scan of your body, and according to these readings the virus I told you about seems to be extending its hold on your body. All this exercise is only weakening your body's defences and if you don't get some rest soon then it could kill you."

"I thought you didn't know anything about this thing," Lily said, refusing to even look at the scanner readings. She placed her pick on the ground next to her, leaning it up against the wall, and glared at Abbado. "Didn't you say that you couldn't get any direct readings on it. How can you be sure that it is going to kill me. I might be causing a beneficial effect."

"That is true," Abbado admitted, starting to sweat a little himself under Lily's gaze. "It is almost impossible to pick up with these instruments. However, I can see the effect it is having on your body. The readings I took earlier and the I ones I just took now don't match. That means that something has been affecting you. I can't tell exactly what it has been doing though. Perhaps if I had a proper set of scanners I could detect a lot more."

"It doesn't appear to have done anything," Lily argued. "I feel as though I could take on the world."

"Some viruses have been know to cause a feeling of euphoria in their victims," the doctor pointed out. "I suggest you rest for a while and let me run some more tests. It is obvious that this virus is alien in nature and I need to do a lot more research before I can discover how to combat its spread."

"Don't bother,' Lily replied. "I don't have time to do any tests, even if I thought I needed them. I don't have the time to spare waiting for you to run tests. After we get out of here and back to the Rasputin, then you can run all the tests you want. Right now though, this tunnel has to be completed as quickly as possible, before she notices what we are up to."

"That's another thing I wanted to talk with you about," Abbado said. "I have spoken with First Officer Curran, and we both think that you obsession with defeating this Jeanne woman isn't healthy. You are going to kill us all if you don't stop this nonsense."

Lily's eyes flashed dangerously. "I have had nearly enough of your nonsense as well," she said, in a low and controlled tone. "I am trying to help everyone escape and all you and Curran can do is try and get in my way. It seems to me that you like being prisoners here a little too much. Everyone else is pulling their weight and I think it is about time that both of you started helping out around here instead of trying to undermine my efforts."

"But..."

"Enough," Lily shouted. "Get out of my sight. I am fine, there is nothing wrong with me, so there is nothing you have to worry about. When I keel over, then you can come and poke me to see what's wrong, but until then I am going to keep working."

"Don't say I didn't warn you then," Abbado snarled, spinning around and marching back down the rough tunnel.

Lily watched him walking for several seconds, before noticing that their conversation had attracted considerable attention from the others working on the tunnel. Only a few metres back, two of the scientists who had been drafted into clearing away the rubble from the digging, were looking at her with concerned faces. "Get back to work everyone," she said softly, her anger draining away as she remembered that everyone here was looking to her to provide them with some sort of leadership. She wasn't going to do that by shouting every time someone challenged her.. "We have a lot of work to do, so there is no time to stand around gawking at me."

The two scientists nodded quickly and went back to piling chunks of broken rock into the large cart like vehicle that the aliens had provided to carry away the left over rock from the mining. "At least she is going to be happy with the amount of gems we have been mining today," Lily muttered to herself, bending down to reclaim her pick.

She was about to resume digging when another noise distracted here. Spinning around with the pick clutched in her hands like a weapon she demanded, "what now."

"Whoa there, Lil," came the annoyingly cheerful voice of Nicolai Luchenko. "I know we didn't get off on the best foot, but that is no reason to skewer me." He knelt down on one knee and looked up at her with a pleading look in his eyes. "Can't we just be friends?" he asked, before ruining the effect by chuckling to himself, as if what he had just done was humorous for some reason.

Lily considered hitting him with the pick, just to shut him up. But, she knew it wouldn't go down too well with her superiors, so settled for an irritated groan. "What are you doing here," she demanded.

"Here to help out with the digging, Lil," Nicolai replied, hopping back to his feet and snatching up the pick discarded by Curran. "Hmm, these things are really light aren't they. I wonder how they make them so strong."

"You mean you haven't used one before now?" Lily asked with an exaggerated groan.

Nicolai shook his head. "I didn't want to ruin my hands," he replied. "I might never be able to play the piano again," he added, chuckling again. "Of course, I never played the piano before anyway."

"What made you volunteer now then?"

"Well," he began, making a show of examining Lily's body closely, a leering look on his face. "Have you seen yourself lately, Lil. It's enough to make any red-blooded man volunteer. Most of the women too."

Lily started at him for several seconds, trying to decide if he was serious or not. He looked serious, but she knew from past experience that Nicolai was an incredible actor. He would have had a very successful career in any acting profession of his choice, if he hadn't decided to become a good-for-nothing playboy. Noticing when his eyes were focused, Lily glanced down, suddenly remembering that she had discarded her most of her uniform for a singlet borrowed from one of the scientists. It was a little big for her, but made swinging a pick a lot easier than with the tight jacket and shirt on. However, after two hours of constant work, it was soaked with sweat, and left very little to the imagination.

Hurriedly turning away from Nicolai, Lily muttered, "can't you be serious just for a few hours?"

"At least I appreciate you for..." Nicolai suddenly cut himself off before he completed the sentence and bent down to pick up a hunk of rock that was lying near his feet. "Now this is what I call a diamond," he muttered, pulling a strip of cloth from a pocket and rubbing away some of the dust that covered the gem. "This little baby is going to break some hearts when we get back to Earth."

"You are supposed to be helping me dig this tunnel," Lily said exasperatedly. "That means you should be hitting the wall with that pick, not staring at me like some lovesick schoolboy, or stopping every ten minutes to pick up pretty looking rocks. This tunnel is our best chance to get out of here and on our way back to Earth. Until then, all these gems are worthless."

"You are really trying to make me feel bad, aren't you Lil," Nicolai said, sounding disgusted at her lack of enthusiasm for the king's ransom of gemstones that lay strewn along the tunnel. "I know you are big on this loyalty and honour thing, but there is nothing wrong with looking after yourself once in a while. If you are right and we do escape, then I intend on taking a few little souvenirs with me. You should do the same."

"I have better things to do," Lily replied, turning back to her digging. Raising the pick above her head, she bought it down, putting all her strength behind the blow. Rock shattered as the razor sharp metal sliced into the rough tunnel wall. Several large chunks of rock broke free and tumbled to the ground, while a cloud of dust and tiny rock chips rose into the air.

Nicolai swore loudly as several of the tiny chips of rock struck his face, one hard enough to cut through his flesh. Wiping away a spot of blood he glared at Lily and said, "can't you be a little more careful."

"Lily glared at him. "If you were working, then you wouldn't have any trouble," she pointed out. "Now either put that stone away and grab your pick, or get out of here and bring back someone who actually wants to do some work."

"You know, I really don't know what I see in you," he muttered, smashing his own pick into the rock wall. "I mean you are obviously bad for me, the sort of girl my father always warned me about. But here I am, digging a tunnel through solid rock in some attempt to win your affections. I must be crazy."

"Don't you even shut up?"

"Only when my mouth is otherwise occupied."

Lily glared at him, caught halfway between exasperation and shock. For a second she once again found herself seriously considering doing him some major injury involving the handle of her pick and a delicate part of his anatomy. Instead though, she just muttered, "Shut up and dig." It was obviously going to be a long couple of hours.

 

* * *

 

About a hundred metres above the mines, and several hundred metres further south, Susan's party had finally reached the end of the undulating hill top ridge that had been following ever since they had passed the outermost of the energy collection spires. They had passed close by three more of the tall spires during the last four kilometres, and had seen even more of them off in the distance. Each tower had sat cold and silent against the Arisian night and their inactivity had only raised even more question about their exact purpose.

Ahead, the relatively gentle hills abruptly ended, the ground rising to form a single large rocky mountain. Below, the winding road Susan and her companions had been following also vanished, heading into the mountain through a single, massive cave. The aliens they observed earlier were now everywhere, at least a thousand had either entered or departed from the cave mouth in the past half hour alone. Overhead, the sky was beginning to lighten from pitch black to the dim twilight of the Arisian day, so it was likely that the activity along the road was somehow related to the coming of dawn.

"Well, where to now?" Jack Melis asked.

"Not down there, that's for sure," Susan replied, observing the comings and goings of the aliens through her binoculars. "It is like the entrance to an anthill down there."

Melis looked at her strangely for a second. "Perhaps that's what it is," he then said excitedly. "These creatures might be this world's equivalent of ants, and this mountain is their home."

"Perhaps," Susan said, although she didn't sound too convinced.

"They are organised a little like ants," Melis continued, pointing out the various groups of aliens. "See, there are the warriors and that big group over there must the workers."

Susan focused her binoculars on the large group of aliens Melis indicated. They were just setting out from cave mouth, turning down a road that headed east through a large forest of fluorescent yellow trees. They were all carrying large cutting tools that were remarkably similar to scythes. Susan wasn't sure if she should compare them to the mythological figure of Death, or to a bunch of medieval peasants on their way off to work on their farms. Then she noticed the hat one of the creatures was wearing on its round dome-like head. It looked remarkably like a rough straw hat, just like the ones the stereotypical farmers always wore on the vids. The whole scene had an eerie feeling of familiarity about it and it was making Susan nervous.

Quickly, she moved her binoculars to observe the group of warriors instead. There were nearly a hundred in the group that Melis had pointed out and they were just heading back towards the cave. Each warrior wore a small kilt around their waist and had large leather bandoleer-like straps across their chests. Over their right shoulders they rested a long metal spear, which appeared as though it was glowing in the almost non-existent light. Like the group of workers, or the farmers as Susan had now decided to call them, the group of warriors also dredged up memories of Earth's history. Arranged as they were, and with the clothing they were wearing, they almost looked like a Roman legion marching off to battle. All they were missing were the sandals and the metal helmets.

The warriors marched towards the cave and then stopped just before the entrance. As one, they all spun around until they were facing the hill where Susan and her companions were currently hiding. Another, much larger alien, walked out of the huge cave and began to parade up and down in front of the warriors, obviously either giving them orders or conduction some sort of inspection. Susan noticed that unlike the other warriors, this new one had two large gemstones set into the leather of his bandoleers and even more gems on his kilt. He also had a large sword strapped across his back.

Susan zoomed out the image a little to examine the entire cave mouth again, noticing several more warrior leaving the cave. Unlike the warriors in the main group, these aliens carried swords and wore gem studded kilts, just like the leader she had been observing moments earlier. Obviously the warriors in the main group were either new recruits or there were a lot of high ranking officers in their army. She also noticed the size difference between the different warriors, observing that the larger the alien was, the more elaborate the display of gems was. "This doesn't look good," she muttered to herself. "There are way to many of these things."

"I wouldn't like to try and shoot my way in there," Drake agreed, from his location behind a large boulder a little further down the hill. "There are definitely too many for a frontal assault."

"Is this where the signal was coming from?" Susan asked.

Drake nodded. "According to my calculations it was about another five hundred metres of so north of here. That would put it slap bang in the middle of that mountain."

Susan looked over at the mountain, noting the four gigantic towers that rose from its flat, table-like summit. While it certainly was the tallest piece of land they had seen so far, it was too small to really be classified as a mountain. It appeared from here that it rose about two hundred metres above their current location and then leveled off into a plateau of some kind. If it was lighter she would have been more certain of her observation, but at the moment it was too dark for her to learn much, even with the latest in night vision binoculars Earthforce had to offer. "So, do we go up, around, or inside?" she queried, looking around at her companions.

"Down?" Talia asked hopefully. "Maybe they are friendly and will give us all foot massages."

A low titter of laughter ran through the gathering, ending when Melis looked down at the cave below and said, "I say we go around. There might be another entrance on the other side of this mountain that is quieter than this one."

"That's a possibility," Drake agreed. "Although it could be just as busy as this one, and all we will accomplish is a lot of walking."

"It's still better than climbing all the way up there," one of the marines muttered, looking at the dangerously steep slope of the mountain towering above them.

"I agree," Talia cut in.

"Around it is, then," Susan said. "West looks as good a direction as any, so we will go that way. Everyone take a quick two minute break and then we will get moving again. Remember to keep an eye open for any patrols. I know we have been amazingly lucky so far, but I can't imagine that luck is going to continue forever, not this close to their base."

There was a chorus of agreement and then the marines unshouldered their packs and started dragging out canteens and ration bars. Susan shoved her binoculars back in their case and handed them over to Drake. Then she walked over to where Talia was sitting. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Apart from the blister on my feet, and feeling as though I have been walking for a week, I'm not bad," Talia replied, a weak smile fluttering across her lips.

"Do you want a longer rest?"

Talia shook her head. "No, I will be OK. I guess I'm not used to this sort of exercise and I will probably feel terrible tomorrow, but I don't want to slow everyone down." She paused for a second and glanced around at the others, who were all busy devouring their ration bars and taking sips of water. Switching to telepathic speech, she asked, <Susan, have you noticed anything strange about this place.>

<You mean the silence?> Susan replied. Then out loud she said. "Hopefully it won't be too much further."

"Hopefully," Talia smiled. <That's right,> she continued telepathically. <I haven't been able to pick up any thoughts from the others for the past half hour. Ever since we came near this place there has been something blocking some of my telepathic powers. We can still communicate, but I can't pick up the thoughts of normals.>

"All right everyone, time to go," Susan said to the group at large. "Sergeant Drake, you take the lead. Dr. Melis you are with me, the rest of you spread out and keep an eye open for anything like might look like a back entrance into those caves. Also keep an eye open for those aliens. I would be very surprised if there isn't some sort of patrol around here." <It has me worried as well,> she added telepathically, reaching down to help Talia back to her feet. <There must be something about this place. Maybe a mineral in the ground, could that be it?>

Talia picked up her pack and shouldered it with a groan. <If there was a large deposit of lead nearby that might do it,> Talia replied, not sounding convinced. <The lead usually has to be in direct path between the telepath and the person she is trying to scan, though. However, it is also possible for a telepath, usually only those ranked P10 or above, to block another telepath's abilities, basically rendering them helpless.>

<I haven't sensed anything, have you?>

<Not a thing.> Talia admitted.

<Keep an eye... better, a thought on it. If there is another telepath out there, then we are going to have to be careful.> The arrival of Melis cut off any further conversation. While the doctor couldn't listen in, it was difficult to carry on a telepathic conversation unobserved with someone so close. Instead Susan continued on in silence, while further back Talia trudged along. Three marines took up positions between Susan and Drake, while bringing up the rear were two marines, who were carefully covering the trail behind them, just in case someone tried to sneak up on them.

 

* * *

 

Half an hour later, Susan and the rest of the rescue team found themselves walking along a narrow path that led around the mountain. Despite the width of the path, it was surprisingly easy going. Someone, possibly the aliens they had observed earlier, had taken considerable time to construct a narrow road around the entire mountain. They must have done this for a reason, but so far there hadn't been any sign of another entrance into the mountain.

"There is probably something just around the corner," Melis said, walking along slightly in front of Susan and Talia, his heavy pack not appearing to cause him any concern at all. "There has to be another entrance into this place. That cave we saw can't be the only way in."

"Assuming of course, the alien live inside the mountain," Talia pointed out. "That cave could have just been some sort of storage site."

"If it was, then it was a very important one," Melis replied. "There were over a thousand creatures down there, with more arriving and leaving all the time. It is most likely that there is a network of tunnels and caves somewhere beneath this mountain."

Up ahead, Drake had stopped and had pulled out his binoculars again. "What is it, Sergeant?" Susan asked, hurrying ahead of the others to catch up with the marine. He was staring at something off in the distance, and did not look pleased at his discovery at all.

Drake pointed toward a long hill that had just appeared once they had come around the corner of the mountain. It was higher than their current location so it was impossible to see what lay beyond. However, along the ridge were another five of the great towers, almost evenly spaced in a neat line running to the west. It wasn't the towers that had caught Drake's eye though, rather the faint glow that came from somewhere beyond the hill. "Lights," he said.

Susan nodded, understanding that what she saw was the glow from a large number of lights just out of sight over the ridge. "Looks like we came the right way after all," she murmured. "That might be a town of something. Is it close to where the signal came from?"

Drake shrugged. "A bit hard to tell from here, Captain," he replied. "I will get a better reading when we are closer. But at a guess, I would have to say yes. It is probably very close indeed."

"Look at that!" Melis suddenly shouted, ignoring Susan's orders about keeping his voice low in his excitement.

Both Susan and Drake turned, just in time to see the after effects of what the doctor had observed. One of the towers, the second from the end, was glowing faintly. The glow quickly disappeared and as the tower went dark again, Susan turned to Melis. "What happened?" she demanded.

"The lightning struck that tower," the doctor replied excitedly. "I was wrong after all, they aren't solar power stations, those things are gigantic lightning rods."

Susan frowned. In the storm cloud above, the lightning had returned, a sign that the hidden sun had also returned. For some reason the lightning faded away during the night and returned only after dawn. Right now, there was only the occasional burst of lightning, but in less than half an hour it would have returned will all the same vigour of the previous day. "I'm not sure I understand," Susan admitted, staring at the tower.

As she watched, another bolt of lightning arched downwards, this time striking the closest of the towers. The tower seemed to draw in the energy and for a second it glowed with power, before the energy absorbed seemed to drain away. "Amazing," Melis muttered. "The way those towers attract the electrical energy. I have heard a lot of talk of harnessing the power of a thunder storm, but I have never seen anything this advanced."

Second later, another lightning bolt tore down out of the skies, amazingly also striking one of the towers. Susan shivered, realising she was observing some very advanced technology at work. "How much energy are those towers absorbing?" she asked Melis.

Melis considered the question, mentally tallying up numbers before giving his answer. "A lot," he replied. Seeing the look on Susan's face, he quickly added, "of course, I don't know exactly how much energy is in each of those bolt, or how many of those towers there are. But, they are drawing in a hell of a lot of electrical energy, possibly enough to power a large city."

"That would explain the lights then," Drake commented.

Melis nodded. "Yes, if they have an electrical storage system of some kind, then they would have lights and possibly other electrically powered devices."

"And even weapons?" Susan asked, sounding concerned.

"I don't know," Melis admitted. "We haven't seen any energy weapons so far, or even any basic slug throwers." Suddenly he frowned. "In fact, I don't think I have even seen a bow and arrow. All those alien soldiers were carrying were spears and swords, no missile weapons at all."

"That is strange," Drake agreed. "Not that I am complaining, mind. If they want to muck around with swords then they are welcome to them. I am quite happy to hang onto my baby here." With his left hand, he patted the muzzle of the heavy PPG rifle he was carrying.

Susan nodded in agreement. "I'm more worried about this new development, than what weapons their warriors are carrying. If they have electrical power, then it could make our task a lot more difficult."

"Do you want to return and call up the rest of the boys and girls from the Rasputin?" Drake asked. "We could probably drag enough juice out of the Sturt's batteries to break though the interference. Especially if we link its power supply to the rover. The first rover won't be back at the landing site yet, and if we made the request now, then they could send down a load of marines with the next shuttle. Perhaps we could even drag a couple of those tanks out of storage?"

Susan shuddered, remembering the evil looking tanks that Earthforce R&D had given them to test. Like the Rasputin's troop transport, they had been designed with Shadow technology, and their appearance still gave Susan nightmares occasionally. She had ordered them stowed away in the ship's most remote cargo bay and then left them there, hoping everyone would forget about them. "I don't think that will be necessary just yet," she told Drake. "I want to at least try and find the Major and the rest of the Sturt's crew before calling for reinforcements. I would prefer not to put any more lives at risk just yet."

Drake nodded. "As you wish, Captain," he replied. "Just a suggestion. What do we do now then?"

Susan glanced down the path, noting that it lead almost straight to the hill which hid the source of the lights from view. "We continue on," she replied. "I want to see exactly what we are up against before deciding what to do next. We will proceed along this path until it reaches the summit of that hill. That should give us a good enough view of whatever lies beyond. Then we can work out our next move."

"Sound good to me," Drake replied, shoving his binoculars back into their pouch, which was now attached to his belt. He readied his PPG rifle and looked down the path. "Look out aliens, here we come," he muttered to himself, as he resumed the march along the path. Susan smiled faintly and waited until Talia and the rearguard had caught up to her before following the Sergeant down the narrow road towards the still distant lights.

 

* * *

 

Lily stared at the water in the metal jug, watching as it swirled around in response to every slight movement she caused the jug to make."What is wrong with me?" she moaned out loud, before taking another sip of the tepid water. The water tasted as bad as even and she angrily shoved the jug away, clutching her head in her callused hands. "Why don't I feel tired like everyone else?"

Running her hands though her short hair, Lily rubbed at a sore spot on the back of her neck. She might not feel the exhaustion her work on the escape tunnel should have caused, but several of her muscles were beginning to complain after four hours of strenuous, back-breaking labour. That was normal though, and it didn't worry her. A good night's rest and a few stretching exercises in the morning and she would be as good as new, if only she felt tired enough to rest.

Lily knew that she should be thoroughly exhausted by now and stretched out asleep on one of the hard beds in the cell-like rooms the aliens had provided for the prisoners. However, she wasn't tired, not even a little bit. Everyone else who she had assigned to the work roster on to work on the tunnel was now fast asleep, recovering from their own exertions, but Lily found herself sitting alone in the mess hall drinking strange tasting water and wondering what the hell was going on with her body.

She had never had trouble sleeping before. The unusual hours of her occupation meant that she had learned to snatch whatever sleep was available, no matter what the conditions. Now though, she couldn't even think of sleep. Her entire body was still charged with energy and it was difficult to keep still. She kept wanting to leap to her feet and pace around the room, anything to keep moving. It was if she had been pumped full of caffeine or one of the more exotic stimulants available on the market these days.

Lily knew that what she was feeling must be an after effect of whatever Jeanne used to heal her, a fact that only made her hate her captor more than ever. She had an irrational urge to try and fight her way out of here and confront Jeanne again, and the only thing that was stopping her was that she knew violence wouldn't work. She had already tired to kill Jeanne once. The attempt had nearly killed her leaving her with some sort of alien virus wrecking havoc with her body.

Although she had dismissed Dr. Abbado's concerns earlier, Lily knew that he was probably right. For all she knew, whatever Jeanne had done might have only provided her with a temporary reprieve. In the end, the cure might turn out to be just as deadly as the wound had been in the first place. Although, at least the pain was gone now. In fact, there was no trace at all of the crippling agony that had gripped her earlier, both in the throne room and when she had awoken in the mines. That seemed to be gone, although Lily knew it would probably be back tomorrow, assuming that she ever got any sleep of course. Sighing, she picked up the water jug again, draining the last of its contents. Then she pushed the now empty jug aside, rested her head in her hands and stared at the wall in front of her.

"Are you all right, Major," a female voice asked suddenly, making Lily jump.

Spinning around, Lily found herself face to face with one of the scientists who had been on her rover. The middle-aged woman didn't really resemble an archaeologist, or one of the other scientists from IPX. Instead, she looked more like a librarian in her wool cardigan and drab coloured clothing. She was even carrying a book under one arm. Suddenly aware that she was staring, Lily muttered, "I'm fine," and turned back to watching the wall.

Undaunted, the other woman took a seat next to Lily and placed her book down on the table. "Are you sure?" she asked. "You looked a little dejected sitting over here, all alone. As I was also alone, I thought I would come and keep you company."

"I prefer to be alone," Lily told her, growing slightly annoyed at the woman's attitude, although it was obvious that she only wanted to help. Lily, however, had never been one for publicly admitting her feelings. She preferred to keep them under wraps until she was in private, although over the past day she had let her anger get the better of her on several occasions.

Beside the Major, the scientist smiled faintly and then held out her hand for Lily to shake. "I am Anne Kasper," she said.

Lily shook her offered hand, noticing a peculiar bracelet around Anne's wrist at the same time. It appeared to consist of ten distinct shapes, each made of the finest silver, set with an unfamiliar red-coloured stone. The whole bracelet seemed to shimmer faintly as Anne's hand moved, a strangely hypnotic effect.

"It's an Thrakallan wedding bracelet," Anne explained, seeing Lily's interest in the bracelet. "My husband has one as well. They are supposed to bring good luck, although so far it doesn't seem to be working."

"Your husband is still back on Earth?" Lily asked, realising that Anne must be missing her husband greatly. She had never had been in a relationship long enough to grow that attached to anyone, but could see what the scientist was feeling.

Anne nodded. "Yes, he works at IPX headquarters in Geneva. I usually work there was well, this is my first trip away from Earth actually. Trust my luck to get the one were we all get kidnapped by hostile aliens."

Lily nodded understandingly. "Hopefully not for too much longer," she said. "Once the tunnel is complete, we should be able to slip out without them even knowing we are gone. Then, all we have to do is make our way back to the landing site, and we will be off this world and on our way home."

"I hope so," Anne said, her hands playing nervously with the book in front of her.

Both woman sat silently for nearly a minute, each lost in her own thoughts. Finally, Lily broke the silence, pointing to the book and asking, "where did you get this from? I thought they took everyone's personal possessions away."

Anne looked down at the book, before clutching it too her chest in a unconscious protective gesture. "This is my diary," she explained. "My husband bought it for me on my birthday. I thought I had lost it when we were captured, but one of the aliens bought it back to me. He said that his Mistress had asked him to deliver it too me. There was also a quill pen and a bottle of ink as well."

"She gave it back to you?" Lily asked incredulously. "I find that difficult to believe."

Anne turned to Lily with a faintly sad look on her face. "I don't think she is as bad as you think," she said softly.

"She is," Lily replied harshly. "She tried to kill me."

"But she also healed you again," Anne pointed out, before turning away looking faintly embarrassed. "At least that is what I heard."

"Only so she could torment me further," Lily replied, turning away and staring at the wall again. "I don't know what she did to me, but I'm not even sure if I'm still myself any more. All I remember is her sword cutting into me and then waking up with only a scar to show for it."

"I think I feel sorry for her," Anne murmured. "I heard what you told Curran about her. Imagine being snatched away from her home and taken here against her will. It must have been terrifying. I don't think I could have survived this long, so far away from my home, my family and every thing I had even known or loved."

"Perhaps," Lily replied, although she didn't really sound entirely convinced. In her opinion, Jeanne did not seem concerned about being away from Earth, rather, she was more concerned with being imprisoned and prevented from carrying out whatever plans she had for the galaxy.

"She sent me a note," Anne said, pushing a torn slip of paper along the table to Lily. "When the alien bought my diary, this was attached to the package."

Curious Lily picked up the rough note and read it out loud. "I think you nead this moore than me." She paused and looked over at Anne. "How can anyone misspell need and more?"

"I don't think English is her native language," Anne replied. "That wasn't what interested me though. Turn the note over."

Lily did as she was asked and saw a line of alien symbols printed along the other side. "Do you know what they mean?"

Anne shook her head. "No, but I think they are Vorlon. They seem to be written with the same writing instrument, so they were probably done by the same person. However, the symbols have been executed perfectly in their form, while the English characters on the other side are very poorly written indeed. It is likely that this Jeanne can write and speak in Vorlon."

"So?"

"It is an incredible opportunity," Anne replied, sounding slightly exasperated with Lily over the Major's lack of understanding when it came to important archaeological facts. "No-one knows how to read Vorlon. There are no dictionaries or other translation devices available. The Vorlon's always used their own translators to communicate, so no-one ever has ever heard what their true language sounds like. It's also impossible to translate their writing, without a common form of reference."

"So you are mainly interesting in her because she can translate Vorlon for you."

"Not only that," Anne replied, her eyes shining with excitement. "You said she is over eight hundred years old. Think of all things she must have seen in her life time. She would be able to tell us a lot about medieval Earth as well. It is a wonderful opportunity. I would love to just speak to her for a couple of hours."

"Why don't you ask the guards to arrange an interview," Lily said angrily. "I'm sure they would love to take you to see her."

Anne didn't appear to notice the anger or sarcasm in Lily voice. "They said she was too busy," she replied. "However, the one in the robe who came down here yesterday said that she might be able to see me in a couple of days. Hopefully I will get to see her before we leave. I am just working on the questions I want to ask at the moment."

"I think I better get back to work," Lily said, standing up. "I want to keep an eye on the digging."

Anne nodded. "It was good talking to you, Major."

Lily nodded, and quickly walked away. She couldn't believe that she had actually felt sorry for the scientist. She was just like all the other prisoners, consumed by her own greed. She could see now how Jeanne was manipulating everyone. All she had to do was offer them what they wanted. Gold and gems for the Sturt's crew and the chance to examine Vorlon technology for the rest. They had all fallen for it too, each leaping at the opportunity to grab whatever they could.

She knew now how Jeanne planned to manipulate Earthforce into giving her what she wanted. All she had to do was offer them something they wanted, Vorlon technology perhaps, and Earthforce would fall for it, just as the prisoners here had succumbed to their own greed. Now even more convinced that ever to complete the tunnel before Jeanne had a chance to work her magic, Lily marched off towards the mines. The other prisoners may not be overly enthusiastic about her escape plan, but she was damned if she was going to wait around and let Jeanne get away with whatever evil plan she was cooking up.

 

* * *

 

Up close, the gigantic tower was even more incredible. It reached high into the atmosphere, at least a hundred and fifty metres above the summit of the hill and, with each lightning strike, it briefly lit up like a beacon. A strange humming sound could be heard emanating from somewhere near the tower's peak, and the air almost crackled with the power contained within. Surprisingly though, the base of the tower was partially overgrown with clinging fungi and climbing vines. Despite the regular lightning strikes, they did not seem to be affected and were slowly climbing their way up the towers sides.

Susan didn't feel like risking her life touching the tower, though. Right now she was more concerned over which road to take. The path the rescue team had been following ever since they first started up the mountain's southern side, wound its way across the summit of the hill and past the eastern most of the towers, before heading downwards again. However, another path had now appeared, heading up the mountainside to the east. The mountain appeared almost circular in shape now. It reminded Susan a little of the lip of an impact crater, although whatever had caused this crater must have been very powerful indeed.

"Which way, Captain?" Drake asked, resting up against the surface of the tower.

Susan looked down each of the paths, noticing that the one that led east up the mountain quickly became very steep, while the one that continued north was flat, although after a few hundred metres it entered a thick forest that appeared to stretch for some distance. Beyond the forest was the other side of the hill, and the source of the lights they had spotted earlier. After carefully weighing up the options, Susan pointed to the north trail. "We go that way," she said firmly.

"Is that wise, Captain?" Melis asked, turning away from his examination of the tower for a moment. "I mean, that leads straight towards those lights. If we went east, we might be able to avoid any contact with the aliens."

"I want to find out what is there," Susan explained. "I thought we might be able to see something from up here, but obviously we need to get a lot closer."

Melis nodded and after packing away his equipment, he shouldered his pack and fell in behind Susan and Drake. For several minutes everyone walked in silence, all scanning the nearby area for any sign of the aliens they had spotted earlier. To Susan, the strange absence of any alien guards was a worrying sign. After observing the close watch they kept over the construction site to the south, she was amazed to find that there were no patrols or guards posted along the mountain side. If that was a town up ahead, then she would have expected some sort of guard posted.

But none appeared, and the small group continued on their way unmolested. After another five minutes of walking, they were at last approaching the point where the hill dropped away. Whatever the lights they had been walking towards signified, they would find out soon enough. The rough path they were travelling on had suddenly become a lot smoother, and suddenly Susan found herself walking on neatly cut paving stones instead of a rocky dirt track.

"What the hell," one of the marines muttered.

"It looks like a proper road now," Melis said. "I wonder why they stopped here?"

"Perhaps they are going to finish it later," Drake replied, pointing out a large pile of flat stones sitting by the side of the road. Next to the stones was a scattered pile of picks and shovels, looking as though they had suddenly been abandoned. Behind that a vast vat sat on a smouldering fire. Even to the untrained eye it was obvious that the workers here had only recently abandoned their posts. There was no sign of the workers, but this entire region was covered with a thickening forest of strangely twisted trees, so they could have been hiding only fifty metres away and they would have still been invisible.

"This is starting to get suspicious," Susan muttered. "We haven't seen any sign of those creatures since we entered the mountains, but this is obviously a well used road."

"Do we go on," Drake asked, looking down the road to were it entered a thick grove of trees, which were almost invisible in the twilight of the Arisian day. The whole place had a eerie feeling about it and it also blocked their view of whatever lay beyond. Drake realised that if they continued along the road, then it would be impossible to see what lay ahead until they exited the forest. That meant that it would be impossible to see the source of the light until they had left the cover the forest provided. It wouldn't give them a long time to prepare for anything that might be waiting for them.

"We go on," Susan said. "But everyone keep on your guard. Those creatures may know we are here. They could even be waiting for us right now."

Everyone nodded, and the marines activated their PPG rifles, the whine from the energy caps sliding into position interrupting the temporary silence that had settled over the party. Then, with his rifles held at the ready, Drake led the small team into the forest. The trees seemed to close around them, dark branches reaching out to pluck at uniforms and try and snag rifle straps. If it wasn't for the glow from the lights at the end of the road, Susan imagined that they wouldn't have been able to see anything at all. Even the powerful flashlights everyone was carrying didn't seem to penetrate very far into the closely knit mass of trees, vines and fungus.

Almost as soon as the forest began though, it was gone. It had only last for about a hundred metres before opening out onto a rocky ledge overlooking a deep canyon. Around the ledge, a metal railing prevented accidents, while on one side a narrow staircase headed down into the canyon. None of this attracted the attention of Susan and her companions though. They were all far too busy staring at what the canyon contained. In an almost dreamlike state, they walked away from the forest to stare down at the gigantic vessel that rested on the canyon floor.

Well over a kilometre in length, the familiar shape of a huge Vorlon war cruiser almost filled the entire canyon. Hundreds of metres below, where a small river could be seen slowly winding its way along the canyon floor, someone had constructed a massive system of pylons and support beams. The warship rested comfortably on these, keeping it free of the thick growth of vines and fungus that had already begun to wind their way up the pylons. There was no telling how long the ship had been there, but it looked ready to take off at a moments notice.

"This isn't good," Susan muttered to herself, shaking her head. She had seen these ships in action before, even fought against them at Coriana 6. She knew how powerful these vessel were, almost invulnerable to normal energy weapons and powerful enough to destroy most Earth vessels in a single shot. This one appeared to differ slightly from the Vorlon ships she had seen though. It had the same basic shape, but instead of the normal greenish-yellow colour, this ship was a pale white. Also different were the markings. The Vorlon ships she had seen had huge red symbols inscribed on the side of the main section. This vessel had the shape of a strangely familiar pink flower instead.

"Look," Melis said, pointing to something on the canyon wall.

Susan looked, and discovered the source of the lights they had been following. Along the sheer walls of the canyon were a series of ledges and walkways. Along the edge of the walkway had been placed a series of large braziers, which combined to fill the canyon with light. One of the braziers currently wasn't lit and she could just make out two small aliens tipping a viscous black oil from a large jug into the metal pan on top of the brazier. Once their task was complete the two carrying the jug stepped back and another, larger, alien stepped forward with a glowing stick clutched in one hand. He cautiously dipped the stick into the oil, which burst into the light. The alien scuttled away, shielding his eyes from the light and then walked along the ledge towards the next unlit brazier, his two jug carrying companions in tow.

Susan wondered why the aliens would bother with light if they obviously didn't like it. Perhaps it was just the one creature, but it seemed strange to her. Then she noticed something else that caught her eye. Above the great vessel, a narrow stone bridge arched its way across the canyon. For a moment she wondered how it stayed up there, but then she noticed a glint of green metal and realised that it was suspended with the assistance of the steel framework. From the bridge hung a dark cable, which stretched down to the top of the warship. As she watched a glowing pulse travelled down the cable to the ship. The small patch of the ship surface near where the cable attached to glowed briefly, before returning to its normal pale shade of white.

"Its almost as if it's on life support," Melis said, also watching the cable.

Susan was about to answer him, but as Talia jumped in first. <Can you hear it, Susan,> She asked, stepping closer to the railing and reaching out as if to try and touch the ship's surface. <It's beautiful.>

For a second Susan wondered what she was talking about, before remembering what she had felt when she had used her own telepathic abilities back at the first rest stop. She had been so busy examining the ship that she hadn't even noticed that she could hear the same singing again, a distant background noise that cut through the dampening effect that had blocked out the thought of those around her. She realised that Talia was right, the voice of the warship was intoxicatingly beautiful. It was a song of joy and freedom and although it was only soft, Susan felt herself being drawn into the ship's dreams, feeling it loneliness and sadness. She suddenly realised that the ship had been here a long time, and it yearned to see the sun and swim among the stars. The last part troubled Susan slightly, as she realised that the ship considered flying through space to be swimming as if the void was a vast ocean.

Talia turned to look at Susan, a feeling of joy on her face. Her face quickly changed though, a sudden look of shock coming over her. Susan quickly spun around, all thoughts of the Vorlon ship gone. Approaching out of the dark forest was a group of large aliens, at least twenty of them. Unlike the other alien soldiers she had observed, these warriors wore a dark suit, almost like armour, over their skin and carried long swords. She glanced to her left, and noticed another group of the creatures climbing up the stairs.

By now, everyone had realised the aliens were there, and the marines had raised their rifles to point at the aliens. The aliens stopped moving as soon as the PPG rifles appeared, arranging themselves in a large semi-circle around Susan's team. She realised that her team was in a very precarious position, trapped on a ledge with nowhere to retreat. If the aliens did choose to attack them, and the PPG rifle didn't stop them, then she knew that the marines would stand little change in hand to hand combat with the larger and heavier alien warriors.

"What do we do now?" Drake whispered to her. He had knelt down near the stairs and was covering the aliens attempting to cut them off that way. "This doesn't look good."

"I agree," Susan replied, also keeping her voice low. "Perhaps they will be friendly."

"Perhaps," Drake muttered, although he didn't sound convinced."

Further conversation was cut off as a new alien arrived. This warrior was the tallest Susan had seen yet and by the number of gems on his chest straps, he was obviously some kind of major leader. The other warriors all wore one or two gems, but this one had five huge rubies on each strap. The warriors covering Susan's team parted to allow their leader through and he walked forward until he was only a few metres away.

There he stopped, resting his tail on the ground while he pulled out a strip of paper from his belt. For several seconds he fumbled with the paper, trying to unfold it while still holding onto his sword. The vicious looking claws at the end of his fingers certainly didn't help matters, but he eventually managed to get the paper unfolded, only ripping it a little bit. He then tried to read what was written on the paper, while at the same time trying to keep an eye on Susan and her companions, in case they tired to make a move. He reminded Susan of an actor who had forgotten his lines, and his appearance was so comical that she had to force herself not to laugh.

For about thirty seconds, he scanned the page, before finally recalling what he was supposed to say. He shoved the ragged piece of paper behind him with a slightly embarrassed look on his face, or at least that's what Susan imagined his expression meant. Then he held his head up straight, stuck his non-existent chin out, and in perfect English said, "All right you scumbags, reach for the sky. This is a bust."

 

* * *

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER NINE   


* * *

 

Susan stared at the tall alien warrior, who was looking back at her, waiting for her to respond to his orders. "What?" she finally managed to blurt out, still in shock over discovering that the alien could speak English. That, and the way he had just spoken, sounding a lot more like some twentieth century police officer than an alien warrior.

"I did not say it correctly?" the alien asked, cocking his head to one side and peering at her quizzically. He examined the scrap of paper again, before looking back up at Susan and saying, "it is what I wrote down. The Mistress told me to invite you to see her, and when I watched the long archive she sent me, this was how they asked someone to come with them. I think I am supposed to take you to the station now."

Susan looked helplessly back at him. "The station?" she asked, finally deciding to take some sort of control of the conversation.

"That is what it said on the show," the alien confirmed. Then he stopped and peered intently at Susan for several seconds. She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, noticing that his stance was changing from one of curiosity to one of caution. "I know you," he said finally, not sounding pleased at all by that discovery.

"You do," Susan replied. "I don't think I have ever seen you before. I think I would remember if I did."

"You are on the screen quite often," the alien explained. "They reported that you were working with the creature your people call Sheridan. The Mistress was most angry with this Sheridan for driving them away."

"Them?" Melis asked, before quickly closing his mouth when he realised that he had spoken out loud. "Sorry," he muttered under his breath as Susan glared at him.

The alien leader spun around and stared at Melis. After looking the scientist up and down several times and eventually dismissing him as unimportant, he turned back to Susan. After looking slightly confused for a second or two, as if deciding how to explain something, he pointed a cautious claw towards the dark sky. "Them," he said, jabbing the long claw towards the storm cloud above. "The Mistress wanted to destroy them herself, but the one called Sheridan drove them away and she was very angry."

"You mean the Vorlons?" Susan asked, suddenly understanding who the alien leader was referring to.

An angry murmur raced its way around the gathered warriors and their slitted, snake-like eyes all glared at her as if she had committed some grievous sin. The tall, muscular leader looked at her with a concerned face. "Do not mention their name," he warned. "The Mistress does not like to hear of them. She may become angry if you mention their names in her presence. The warrior who I took to see her must have mentioned them and the Mistress became very angry with her. Fortunately the Mistress is merciful and your warrior friend still lives."

"My warrior friend?" Susan asked, with a sinking feeling in her stomach. There was only one person that she could think of that fitted the bill, and she had learned over the past few weeks that Major Logan had both the temper and the attitude to anger anyone, should she choose to do so.

Sergeant Drake appeared to have picked up on the same thing that Susan had and he stepped forward angrily. "If you have harmed the Major..."

"Sergeant Drake!" Susan interrupted him. "This isn't the time."

Drake nodded and took a step back, although he still had his finger on his rifle's trigger and was pointing it at the alien leader. The alien hadn't even blinked during Drake's outburst. Instead, he just turned to face the Sergeant and stared at him with a curious gaze. Then, after Susan ordered Drake to stand down, he turned back at her and flashed a fang-filled half smile. He then waved a hand in the direction of the crater-like mountain that rose above them. "I believe the Mistress can explain all your questions," he said. 

"You mentioned something about an invitation," Susan reminded him.

The alien leader nodded. "Yes, the Mistress said to invite you to come and see her. I apologise if I was incorrect in the protocol of such invitations, but my people do not get many guests on this world. In fact, your people are the first. The Mistress sent me to find you and bring you to her throne room so she can talk to you. I must insist though, that all of your warriors remain outside. I will not permit another alien warrior within reach of the Mistress again, not after what happened with the last one."

"What did happen with Major Logan?" Susan asked, growing slighty concerned for the Major. While she knew that Lily could probably take care of herself, Susan was worried that she might have done something stupid. First contact situations were difficult enough as it was, and not really suited for soldiers. "Is she still all right?"

The alien leader nodded again. "She lives and has recovered from her foolishness. The Mistress healed her injuries. She was fortunate, however, that the Mistress ordered that she not be harmed. She dared to try and injure the Mistress, and for that crime she should have punished. But, the Mistress showed her mercy and permitted her to live."

"I don't suppose you will let us see her?"

"You must ask the Mistress," the alien replied. "I will take you to her now."

"Just a minute," Susan said. "I must talk with my team first."

The alien leader nodded and walked the short distance back to the rest of his troops. Susan turned to Drake and asked, "what do you think, Sergeant?"

"I'm not sure if I would go anywhere with this bunch," Drake replied. "I don't know what they did with the Major, but it is obvious that they are keeping her prisoner. If we go along with them now, then we might just end up in the same place she is. I think it would be better if we tried to make them give up the prisoners now. My men can probably take these guys if you give the order. They don't appear to have any dangerous weapons. Swords I can handle, they won't even get a chance to fire back."

Susan shook her head. "I don't think that would be the best way to handle this situation, Sergeant. We are backed up against the long drop, and I don't really want to start something if these creatures aren't hostile. I'm concerned about the Major as well, but they haven't appeared violent yet. I think that if they wanted to hurt us, they could have done so long before now." She turned and looked at Melis. "What about you, Doctor. Do you have any suggestions?"

"I think they are very interesting," Melis replied. "I can't agree with the Sergeant though, I don't think they want to hurt us. They are probably just as curious about us as we are about them. It is possible that they only captured prisoners due to a misunderstanding. If that is so, then we should do everything in our power to improve relations. I do not think these creatures are the real power on this world. It is obvious that there is some creature guiding their actions. It is this Mistress that we need to speak to. These warriors are obviously the servant race here, we need to speak to the leader of this world."

"And what do you base these deductions on, Doctor?" Susan asked.

Melis paused for a moment, mulling over how to explain his theories so everyone could understand him. Finally he pointed behind him, indicating the Vorlon war cruiser. "This ship gave me the final clue," he said. "I have examined Vorlon artefacts before, and they require one of two things to operate. Most of their organic machines require sunlight to work, while some of their smaller devices need a telepathic signal to switch on. That level of technology is way beyond anything these creatures have. They strike me more as a primitive race who has been given technology, but has no idea how it works. This then leads to the question of who gave them the technology. This ship seems to suggest that it was the Vorlons, but they are gone from the galaxy. Perhaps they supported this world before they left, but I don't think that is likely, not given the way they think of them around here."

"So, who is it then?" Susan asked.

"I'm not sure yet," Melis admitted. "Which is why I am curious to meet this Mistress of theirs. If she is the one who built all of this, then I would like to speak with her. She could be some creature that is even more powerful than the Vorlons."

Susan nodded. "So would I, but not for the reasons you are thinking off. You are forgetting our mission. We are here to retrieve the Sturt's crew and Major Logan, not conduct an investigation of this world. As far as I am concerned, if they give us back everyone who's missing, then I will leave this place quite content." She turned away and walked forward, attracting the alien leader's attention. "Can you guarantee our safety?" she asked as soon as the alien walked over to see what she wanted.

He nodded. "The Mistress said to invite you to see her. She was most specific that you not be harmed in any way, and that you be treated as her honoured guests. She was also very insistent that I bring you to see her, it is important to her."

"Will we be able to leave again?"

The alien looked hesitant. "I do not know," he admitted. "The Mistress does not inform me of all her plans. My orders are to find you and invite you to see her, nothing more."

Susan stared at him for a moment, wondering if he was telling the truth or not. It was almost impossible to tell when the only facial features the alien had was a thin pair of ridges, just above his eyes and a fang filled mouth that for the most part only moved when he was speaking. Finally she decided that taking a chance was better than nothing. "Can we keep our weapons?" she asked, pointing out the Sergeant's rifle.

"Those are weapons?" he asked, peering at the rifle and snorting derisively. "The Mistress did not say to take your weapons, only that I was to bring you to see her."He waggled a claw around at the group of warriors facing Susan and her team. "My soldiers wear her special clothing anyway, so your weapons can not harm us."

"You don't though," Susan pointed out.

"I do not need it," the alien replied. "It constricts my movements. Besides, the Mistress said that you would not hurt her and she is almost never wrong."

"Almost?"

The alien hesitated again, looking nervously around the ledge, as if he was afraid that someone was watching him. "She has not been herself ever since your people arrived on this world," he said in a low, conspiratorial tone. "I think she is sick."

"Why do you do what she tells you?" Susan asked, deciding to try and find out as much as possible about this Mistress creature before she chose to put her life on the line.

The alien frowned, and waved a clawed hand towards the canyon below. "She has given us much," he replied. "All of this has been built because of her gifts. She works to make our lives better, she gives us laws and she makes sure that we understand the ways of other races, so that when we leave this world and venture beyond the clouds we will know of what lies before us."

"Is that why you speak English?"

"English?" the alien replied, looking confused.

"The language you are speaking," Susan replied. "On our world it is called English."

The alien shrugged. "I do not know of your world. The Mistress told us that we must learn this language many generations ago. Before then, we spoke another language that she had taught us and before that we spoke our own language. Recently, when the screen started to show images, the people on there that looked like you spoke in the same language. We assumed that all aliens spoke that way."

Susan shook her head, a faint smile on her face. "Only Humans," she replied. "The other races have their own languages. You mentioned a screen, what is it?"

"The screen the Mistress created. It shows images from far away. The scouts can use it to send reports from the lands of light and it used to be able to pick up the ISN. However, something stopped it several cycles ago and it was then that the Mistress started to act strangely."

Susan considered the alien leaders words, before realising that a cycle must be a day and that meant the satellite the Rasputin destroyed must have also been acting as a receiver for the ISN broadcast. If that was true, then it meant that the Vorlons must have tapped into the ISN feed from Geneva somehow. There certainly wasn't a relay station anywhere near the Vorlon border. "I think I would be very interested in meeting this Mistress of yours," Susan said.

The alien looked pleased. "I will guide you," he said, pointing towards the stairs leading down into the canyon. "That is the quickest way to the palace." 

He then hurried over to his troop and began to give them orders, his words just audible to Susan's ears. She could hear him muttering something about guarding something, but nothing more than that. She turned around to face her own team, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Are you sure this is wise, Captain," Drake asked her.

"Probably not," she replied. "But, I think it is worth a shot. It may be that this Mistress just wants to talk and will let us go again. If not then we may have to fight our way out. I don't fancy our chances though. If what their leader said is true, then our weapons may have little effect."

"That may explain why Major Logan was captured so easily," Talia suggested. Telepathically she added.  <Remember what you told me about the Vorlons imprisoning something on this world.>

<I remember,> Susan replied telepathically, while trying to look as though she was considering what Talia had just said.  <However, I am beginning to question their motives. It was obvious that they were afraid of this creature, but was it because it threatened everyone, or was it just the Vorlons who were threatened.> Susan then looked around as the rest of her team and said, "I don't like having to do this, but it may be the easiest way there is to get everyone back. Dr. Melis is right, this whole thing could just be one gigantic misunderstanding. They might have thought the Sturt's crew were trying to invade or something."

Melis looked pleased that Susan was agreeing with him, but any comment he was about to make was cut off by the return of the alien leader, along with his all of his troops. They had put away their swords, but each alien warrior still looked dangerous enough with just his claws. "This way," the leader said, pointing towards the stairs. "It is not far."

Susan indicated to Drake that she would take the lead and followed the alien leader onto the stairs. The warriors who had been watching them from the top of the stairs turned around and took up the lead, Susan and the leader falling in behind them. Further back was the rest of Susan's team and behind them the remaining alien warriors. Then, walking in single file, they all set off down the stairs, heading towards the canyon floor, hundreds of metres below them.

 

* * *

 

The long staircase appeared to go on forever, zigzagging its way down the rocky side of the massive canyon. In several places the alien metal had been replaced by steps carved out of solid rock, a welcome relief from the rickety metal framework found along the rest of the journey. The aliens seemed to be having very little trouble with the stairs, almost bounding down them as they led the way towards the floor of the canyon. Susan and the rest of the humans were having considerably more difficulty though, forced to slowly pick their way along at a snails pace. Fortunately, no-one suffered from a fear of heights, although a journey like this was almost enough to give anyone vertigo.

Finally the alien leader called a halt, stopping where the stairs suddenly transformed into a long bridge that arched across the bottom of the canyon. Below, a gentle stream slowly trickled its way along the canyon floor, winding between strands of jungle trees and vines. Much of this part of the canyon was cloaked in shadow, the vast bulk of the war cruiser blocking out the light from the braziers, which all appeared to be on the higher ledges.

"Are you sure this is safe," Susan asked the alien warrior, indicating the bridge in front of them. "It is too dark down here to see where we are going."

The alien looked at her, one eye ridge raised in a questioning expression. "You can not see?" he queried.

Susan shook her head. "No, it is too dark. We can not see where we are going."

The alien seemed to consider this for a moment and then he walked back across the wide ledge until he reached the canyon wall, stopping just next to the lowest of the metal steps. There was a thick strand of orchid-like flowers hanging from the rocky cliff face right next to him and the alien dug into the soft soil they were growing out of, eventually tugging out a dirt encrusted sphere that had lain hidden in between the flowers. He wiped his hands across the sphere's smooth surface, he removed most of the dirt and caused the sphere to glow with a dim light. It wasn't much, but it would be enough to see by.

"The Mistress placed globes all along the walkways," he explained as he handed the globe to Susan. "Its power is low, but it will work for a while yet, at least until you reach the other side of the bridge. From there on, you will be within the city and its tunnels have their own globes."

Susan nodded and stepped back to allow the alien leader to resume his place at the head of the group of warriors who were leading her and the rest of her team. She glanced up for a second and couldn't help shivering at the sight of the gigantic warship that hung just above them. She could almost reach out and touch its smooth surface, something Dr. Melis had been attempting to do ever since they had reached the end of the staircase. From their current location, the vast supports that lifted it off the canyon floor were lost in the darkness and it appeared as though the ship was just floating in mid air, right above them. If she didn't know that the supports where there, Susan would have been even more concerned. As it was, she couldn't help a small shiver of fear as she imagined what that ship could do. She had seen them in action, and even though this one wasn't active - asleep in fact - if the feelings she was picking up were correct, it still looked dangerous, like a powerful war engine just waiting for a chance to destroy something.

"Come," the alien leader called, interrupting Susan's thoughts. He pointed his claw across the long bridge and in the dim light the globe provided, Susan could see that the bridge was a lot safer than she had first thought. Like the larger bridge that spanned the very top of the canyon, this one was constructed of stone, and Susan imagined that it would also have metal supports beneath it, as it certainly didn't appear to have any other form of suspension. Taking one cautious step forward she started across the bridge, only to have Melis brush past her as he hurried to catch up with the alien.

"Can I ask you a question?" Melis said as he reached the tall warrior's side.

The alien turned and looked at Melis, regarding him with the sort of disdain someone would look at something they had just scraped off their shoe. "What is it you wish to know?" he asked, sounding none to pleased at being interrupted

"I want to know about that ship," Melis replied, pointing to the warship above them. "Where did it come from? Who made it? That sort of thing."

The alien stopped and looked up at the ship. "It has always been here," he replied. "The Mistress asks us to care for it and so we light the fires that keep it warm and ensure that it is connected to the power network. The Legends say that it arrived shortly after the Mistress, growing out of the ground."

"But who owns it," Melis pressed. "Does it belong to the Mistress?"

"I know nothing more," the alien insisted, turning and walking away from the scientist, heading out of the circle of light cast by the globe in Susan's hand and across onto the dark span of the rest of the bridge.

Melis looked a little annoyed, but allowed the alien to depart without pressing him further. Susan quickly caught up with him. "That was foolish, Doctor," she whispered angrily. "I don't want to anger them. Just leave the talking to me will you."

"I was just trying to find out more about this ship," Melis whined. "I thought that if we knew something more about how it came to be here, then it would help us when we meet this Mistress creature."

"Perhaps," Susan agreed. "But it's not worth starting an argument with that creature, no matter what the reason. Stay back with Sergeant Drake and keep out of the way."

Melis nodded submissively and waited until the big marine caught up with him. Then, they all set off across the bridge in pursuit of the alien leader and his warriors. Another group of alien waited behind on the ledge. They tried to look nonchalant, but it was obvious to Susan and everyone else that they were there solely to ensure that no-one attempted to return up the stairs. As Susan's team moved off, they also followed, keeping a good distance between them and the Humans, but still staying close enough to deal with anything that might arise.

Susan wasn't concerned about them for now though, her attention was focused on the upcoming meeting with the creature that the alien leader had called "The Mistress". She wondered what sort of being this Mistress was, wondering if perhaps she wasn't a Shadow agent the Vorlon had imprisoned here. Something told her that wasn't likely, especially considering the make of ship the Mistress preferred to fly, assuming of course that is was her vessel. Susan had never heard of a Shadow agent flying a Vorlon war cruiser, especially one with such unusual markings.

"I wonder," she muttered to herself, looking up at the vast bulk of the warship as they passed beneath one of the four gigantic tentacle-like appendages that formed the ship's main gun.

"What do you wonder?" a soft voice asked from just behind her.

Susan turned, and smiled at Talia, who was following along just behind her. "I was just wondering what that flower is," she explained, pointing towards the region where the pinkish symbol was inscribed across the side of the warship. It wasn't actually visible from here, but Talia had seen it from the top of the canyon, so Susan knew she was aware of its existence. "It is so familiar, but I just can't quite place it."

"You don't buy many flowers do you, Susan," Talia said, shaking her head in amusement. When Susan looked at her in mock indignation, she smiled and said, "it's a lily. I used to have one in my quarters on Babylon 5, only it was white, not pink."

"You're sure?"

"Positive," Talia replied. "It has a fairly distinctive shape, I don't think I would make a mistake, especially not after looking at it every morning for nearly two years."

"I don't remember seeing it," Susan muttered.

"That's because you didn't really go into my quarters a lot," Talia replied. "If you remember, it took you nearly a year before you would even talk to me like a person."

"You know what this means then."

"That you aren't very observant," Talia suggested, a teasing smile on her face. "Or do you mean that you just take too long to get over your insecurities?"

Susan looked at Talia with a slight frown on her face. "I was talking about the flower," she replied. "Don't you think it a little strange that an Earth flower is being used by some alien ruler."

Talia looked at her companion with a shocked expression on her face, suddenly realising what Susan had discovered. "You don't think this Mistress comes from Earth do you?" she asked excitedly.

"It has to be a possibility," Susan replied. "We know that the Vorlon have visited Earth many times in the past, and we know they have taken people away to serve them. What if this prisoner of theirs comes from Earth. That might explain why the aliens thought that she was acting strangely when she found out about the Sturt's arrival and it might also explain why everyone here speaks English."

"Do you think it's possible?"

"I don't know for sure," Susan admitted. "But I intend on finding out." She handed Talia the light globe. "Take this," she said. "I have someone I need to talk to."

As Talia stood there with a quizzical look on her face, Susan ran across the long, darkened section of the bridge and onto the wide ledge that waited on the other side. Fortunately, the bridge headed in a straight line for all of its long span, or Susan wouldn't have been able to stop herself from falling off the side. However that didn't happen and a dim light shining out of a nearby passageway, provided just enough light for Susan to see the alien leader, and the small group of warriors who accompanied him, waiting on the far side of the bridge. They all appeared to be discussing the way the light glistened off the skin of someone called Kaj. Susan didn't know who this Kaj was, but the way the warriors were talking it was obvious that he or she was of great interest to them.

"Can I talk to you for a moment," Susan asked, as soon as the alien warrior noticed her.

"What is it you want, Captain Ivanova?" the alien asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

"You know my name?" Susan asked in surprise, before cutting off the alien's explanation. "Wait, I remember, ISN. I have been on there often enough over the last few month that I'm surprise half the galaxy doesn't know who I am."

"The oldest of our people are permitted to watch the screens whenever they are not working," the alien explained. "Those of lesser rank may only watch in the communal halls, the Mistress does not wish to waste too much energy. I have spent many hours watching the ISN when I am not otherwise occupied. It was very interesting, although it was difficult to see much due to the... interference I think the Mistress called it."

"Do you have a name?" Susan asked suddenly, slightly annoyed that the alien leader knew who she was, but she didn't have a clue what to call him. It was obvious that they had names, unless this Kaj was some sort of animal, their equivalent of a horse or something like that. After the way the warriors were talking about her though, Susan didn't think that likely.

"I am General Azrak," the alien told her. "You said you wanted to talk to me?"

Susan nodded. "I wanted to ask you about the Mistress," she told Azrak. "Can you tell me what she looks like?"

Azrak raised both eye ridges and peered quizzically at her for several seconds before replying. "The Mistress is a being of great beauty," the General told her. "When I look at her, I see nothing, just a shadow in the place where she should be and her eyes. But her eyes are very warm, dark and mysterious like her body, but they shine with an inner light. She is the most wonderfully kind and generous being in all of the universe."

"Then she is not one of your people?"

"Of course," Azrak snorted. "She is our leader and all here would willingly give their lives for her."

"I mean, she isn't the same as you," Susan said, struggling to find a way to explain what she meant.

Azrak stared at her, an unreadable expression on his face. "No," he said finally. "She does not look like me. She is different."

"Does she look anything like me?" Susan queried.

A round of laughter greeted her question, and it seemed that all the aliens found her suggestion extremely amusing. "No," Azrak replied finally, a wide smile covering his face. "As I said she is the most wonderful being in the universe, not a creature like yourself." He waved his hand in front of Susan, indicating her body. "She does not have thin arms and legs like you, or unhealthy white skin. She also doesn't have this strange... hair?"

"So, she is a creature of shadow then?" Susan asked.

The General frowned angrily. "She is not a creature," he said in a low, dangerous tone of voice. "It is you who are a strange alien creature, not the Mistress. She is glorious being and you should not talk that way about her. She does appear as a shadow to us, but her servants say that she is just as wonderful close up as she is to observe from afar. You should not call her a creature when you have not even met her."

"I'm sorry," Susan said. "I was just curious about what she looked like."

"You will see her soon enough, Alien," the General replied. "She has requested that I take you directly to the throne room, so you will be allowed to see her there."

Susan nodded, and then turned around to watch the rest of team arrive at the end of the long bridge. They had been taking their time, so it wasn't only Melis that was interested in examining his surroundings. "Did you find out what you wanted," Talia asked, pulling Susan's attention away from the tardiness of the marines.

"Not really," she replied. Talia smiled at her, and handed back the light globe Susan had given her. As their hands briefly touched, Susan opened up her mind and projected her thoughts in Talia's head, silently informing Talia of what she had really discovered after questioning Azrak.  <I think this Mistress could be a Shadow agent after all. The way the General was talking, she sounds like a creature that the Shadow's would have serving them. Of course, that doesn't explain the flower, or the Vorlon ship, but I guess we will find out about them soon enough."

<I hope you are wrong,> Talia replied.  <From what you have told me about these Shadows, they were not a very nice race.>

<No, they weren't,> Susan confirmed.  <Although why one of their agents would be on a Vorlon world is beyond me. This world was in the path of the their planet killers, they should have been able to destroy it just as easily as they did the other worlds they murdered.>

<As you said a minute ago, I guess we will find out soon enough,> Talia replied, stretching in an attempt to more evenly distribute the weight of her pack, which had become unbalanced during the long walk down the stairs from the top of the canyon. "I wish we didn't have to carry these things," she muttered out loud. "It seems to get heavier with every minute."

Susan nodded in agreement, before a sudden idea struck her. She turned back to the General who had been watching her mostly silent conversation with Talia with a look of bored indifference on his face. "Can we leave some of our equipment here?" she asked. "It is heavy and if we will be coming back this way, then it will save us having to carry it all the way there and then back again."

"You will not be returning this way," Azrak replied.

"What?" Drake, who had been listening in on what Susan had asked, demanded angrily. The Sergeant looked furious, holding his rifle in a threatening manner. "I thought you said you didn't know what your Mistress wanted with us. How do you know we won't be returning this way then?"

Azrak turned and looked at Drake, sniffing derisively at the PPG rifle. "I do not know what she desires with you," he replied. "But I do know that this is the long road. If you wish to return to the swamp, where the alien ship is, then it is a lot quicker to take the tunnel from the centre of the city. This way is only used by the workers who are constructing the new road, and occasionally by the other workers who repair the collection towers."

"We didn't know that though," Susan pointed out.

The General looked back at her and nodded. "Leave your belongings here," he said. "I will order the first workers that we see to collect them and bring them along to the throne room."

"I wouldn't want to put anyone one out," Susan said, not really wanting the aliens to have a chance to examine the belongings of her pack. Not that she had anything personal in there, but it was just the principal of the thing.

"It would be an honour to the workers," Azrak replied. "They will get to see the throne room door, and that is a great honour, for only those of the higher ranks are usually permitted into the palace."

"Sounds good to me," Talia replied, unclipping the straps of her back lowering it to the ground with a tired sigh. Most of the marines quickly followed suit, piling the packs and the other equipment they didn't need near the passage way that led into the rock face. After a moment of hesitation, Susan also followed suit. Although, as she lower her pack onto the growing pile, she noticed that both Dr. Melis and Sergeant Drake were hanging onto theirs, obviously not willing to allow their packs out of their sight.

"Are you ready now?" General Azrak asked impatiently. "The Mistress awaits your presence, and I do not intend on keeping her waiting any longer than I have to."

"We're ready," Susan confirmed.

"Good," the General replied, walking into the passageway. "This way then, and you will not need the globe. The way from here is lit. While we can see in the darkness, we see better in the light, although only if it isn't too bright. The Mistress created the globes for us, and they will provide you with enough light to see by. You may leave the globe by your equipment. The workers will take it away to be recharged when the come to collect you possessions."

Susan nodded and placed the globe down on the pile of packs. Then she looked around at the rest of her team, indicated for them to follow the General. There was an obvious hesitation to be the first to enter the passageway, until finally Susan sighed in frustration and stepped in after Azrak. The passageway was made of the same greenish-yellow metal as the stairs had been, but apart from that it appear much the same as every other passageway she had ever seen. "Come on," she said to her companions, before turning and following the General into the hillside.

 

* * *

 

Lily leaned back against the roughly hewn wall of the tunnel, intermittently surveying the continuing digging. She had been worried that the lack of any good light source would be a problem, but the light globes from the living quarters were found to retain a lot of their power, even after being torn out of their settings. She had used them sparingly along the tunnel itself, but had set several on the ground near the actually digging site, not wanting anyone to injure themselves due to poor lighting. So far it seemed to be working, and the digging had continued on through the mountain side, with only the occasional scrape or cut.

Currently the two marines, Hawke and Anderson, were taking their turn digging, with most of the scientists and crew from the Sturt having long ago finished their turns with the picks and were currently sleeping off their exertions. Lily herself still didn't feel like sleeping, but had pushed her worry about what was happening to her body and metabolism into the deepest, darkest recesses of her mind. When this was over, and everyone was on their way back to Earth, then she could worry about it. Now, she had a tunnel to build and over sixty people looking to her to save them.

She had finally relinquished control of her pick to one of the other workers about two hours ago. She wasn't mentally tired, but physically she was exhausted. Despite her training and fitness, her body just wasn't strong enough to keep going at that pace forever. In the face of her physical depletion, her mind was still absolutely awake. Knowing she couldn't sleep, she'd chosen to supervise the digging, making sure that it continued without interruption. Some of the more out of shape scientists had complained about the tough pace she was forcing them to adhere to, but Lily had dismissed those concerns. She knew that they had to work fast. 

They had been working on the tunnel for nearly eight hours now, nearly an entire day on this world. The guards who bought their food and took away the gems had last come three hours ago, and Lily was sure they were getting suspicious. She had ordered the tunnel blocked by a makeshift barrier. In the poor light it look much like the rest of the wall, but she had still seen one of the alien soldiers looking closely in its direction. The soldiers had left without comment though, but Lily knew that another inspection, the next was due in about five hours, could spell their doom. So she had been pushing everyone extra hard, working them until they dropped, all in an effort to finish the tunnel and get out of here before the alien soldiers returned.

Suddenly, one of the marines stopped his digging, pausing and looking down at the rock face in front of him. "What is the problem, Private Hawke?" Lily demanded, hopping up and walking across the rough tunnel floor to where the digging was being conducted. As she took her first step, she also reached down and scooped up one of the spare light globes, running her hand across its surface to activate it.

"I'm not sure," Hawke admitted, standing back to allow Lily to take a look at the crack his pick had made in the rock. "I think I can almost feel a cool draft coming from beyond this wall."

By now Anderson had also stopped digging, and they all clustered around the crack in the rock, feeling a slight breeze gently brushing their faces. It bought with it the smell of vegetation, probably rotting, but at least it was something. With renewed vigour, Lily snatched Hawke's pick out of his hands. "Stand back," she ordered, as she raised it above her head. 

Both of the marines quickly complied, stepping well back as Lily swung the pick with all her strength, down onto the hard rock. There was a loud ringing sound as the metal of the pick struck the rock and then came the sound of falling rock. Fortunately though, it wasn't the ceiling that was caving in, but rather the rock wall in front of them. Lily leapt out of the way, standing well clear until the last of the rocks had stopped moving and the dust began to settled.

"Looks like you did it, Major," Hawke said, shaking his head in amazement. "We made it through to the other side."

"Don't get you hopes up yet," Lily replied. "We could still be underground, this might just be a cavern."

"But Major, the air."

Lily hesitated, the smiled as she realised what Hawke meant. The stuffy air of the tunnel was gone and in its place was air smelling of the surface, just like the faint breeze they had detected moment earlier, only much more powerful and exciting. The pile of rocks in her way almost reached up to the ceiling, but she could still see a small passage through, into whatever lay beyond. Tossing the pick to one side, Lily clambered up the rocks towards the passage, unmindful of the possible dangers of the still unstable rock pile. It was rough going, but she soon managed to squeeze through the gap between the rocks and ceiling and tumbled down into the cavern beyond.

"Are you all right, Major?" Hawke voice called from the other room.

Lily picked herself up and dusted off her clothing. Somewhere in the distance, the musical tinkle of a river running over rocks reached her ears, while the tangy smell of some flower or mushroom made her nostril twitch with the beginnings of the sneeze. She managed to hold back the sneeze, and called back to her companions, "toss one of the lights through. I can't see a thing in here."

One of the marines, she didn't see which, hauled himself up on the pile of rocks and pushed a globe through the gap into this new cavern. It bounced across the rocks before falling into Lily's outstretched hand. After checking to make sure it wasn't damaged she held it aloft and looked around the new cavern. It wasn't very big, but there was a passage leading out of one end. That was a very good sign, as it meant that they wouldn't have to do more digging for a while. The breeze they had felt was coming from somewhere down that passage, so hopefully it also led to the surface.

"Clear away the rest of those rock," Lily ordered, shining the light into a dark corner of the cavern and frightening a tiny lizard that had been resting there. It hissed at her, before deciding that she was too much to take on and scuttling away down the passage. The sounds of renewed work came from the other side of the rock pile, and it quickly began to decrease in size as the chunks of rock and gemstone were carted away. Lily sat down on a large, rounded rock and amused herself by trying to clean up the singlet she was wearing while she waited for the others to arrive.

It didn't take long for the two marines to haul away enough rocks to form a proper passage between the tunnel and the cavern, and as soon as they had broken through Hawke hurried into the cavern, eager to see what Lily had discovered. "Do you think this leads back to the surface?" Hawke asked.

"I hope so," Lily replied. She stood up, looking over at Hawke. "You didn't bring your pick?"

"I didn't think I would need it," Hawke replied.

"Get it. If that rock fall was heard by any of the aliens, then they might be on to us. We may need to defend ourselves. Get two picks and another light for yourself and meet me back here." Then as an afterthought she added, "also bring two flasks of water and my uniform jacket."

"Right away," Hawke replied with a salute.

As he ran off, Lily peering back into the tunnel. "Anderson?" she asked, looking around for the other marine.

"Right here, Major," came the reply from the lanky Swede, still hidden from Lily's sight in the shadows at the end of the tunnel.

"Can you take over here?"

"Are you going somewhere?" Anderson asked.

"I thought I would check out this tunnel with Hawke," Lily replied, pointing towards the passage on the other side of the cavern. "The air in this place obviously comes from the surface and I saw a lizard so it must have found its way in here somehow. With any luck, we won't have to do any more digging."

Anderson walked into the cavern and peered down the passage. As soon as he had satisfied his curiosity, he turned back to Lily. "I can take care of it, Major," he replied with a nod. "But, are you sure you don't want to take me with you?"

Lily shook her head. "I need someone I trust in charge here," she replied. "Besides the fewer or us there are, then the more likely that we won't be spotted by any alien patrols."

Hawke chose that moment to come running back down the tunnel, slightly out of breath. He quickly handed Lily her wrinkled jacket and a pick, while keeping the two water flasks and another pick. "Ready to go, Major," he said with another academy trained salute.

Lily nodded, taking a few seconds to pull on her jacket and zip it up. "Good," she said. "Anderson, keep an eye on everyone, and if we aren't back in an hour, then you can come looking for us."

Anderson nodded. Then, with Hawke in tow, Lily set off down the passage. It wasn't long, in fact a lot shorter than even she had imagined. It ran perhaps fifty metres before ending in a thick curtain of leafy vines. Unlike the rest of the vegetation Lily had seen on this world, these plants were much more verdant, almost resembling the jungle trees and vines she had seen around the landing site. Beyond the vines the sound of moving water had grown stronger, and Lily almost imagined that she could see a faint light filtering down from somewhere up above. For a moment, she thought that they might have dug their way all the way out of the cloud covered region and back into the sun light, before she realised that it wasn't possible. They were still beneath the cloud, so that meant that the light had to be artificial.

"Do we go through?" Hawke asked, pointing towards the vines. "We should be careful around here, any one of these plants could be poisonous or something like that."

Better not take the chance then," Lily replied, lashing out at the vines with her razor sharp pick. The metal didn't cut as well through the vegetation as it had through rock, but Lily discovered by aiming at the roots of the vines they were soon removed and the way out cleared. Beyond lay a thick forest of bushes and trees, again resembling the jungle that covered the lit areas of the world. "This is becoming a little strange, Lily muttered to herself, stepping out of the cave mouth and onto the soft earth beyond.

She glanced up, looking for the source of the faint light that was shining down on them. The light appeared to flicker slightly, but that effect was probably caused as it filtered down through the leaves, bouncing from leaf to leaf. At least that's what Lily decided was causing the flickering. She couldn't see the source from here, so further investigation were impossibly until they reached a clearing. 

"Which way now?" Hawke asked, joining her at the edge of the jungle. He stared cautiously at a trio of medium sized lizards that were hiding under a fallen log, looking at him. "Do we go back and tell the others?"

"We might as well take a look around, Lily replied. "I told Anderson an hour, and it has only been five minutes so far."

"Which way then?" Hawke asked, sweeping his hand around the cave mouth, pointing out all the directions open to them. He glanced up at the high cliff that towered above the cave. "We obviously can't go up, so we either go along the cliff walls or head out into the jungle."

"That way," Lily replied, pointing straight out into the jungle. "The water we can hear sounds like it is coming from that direction. That seems the most logical place to start."

Hawke nodded and they both set off, hacking at the thick vines and bushes that stood in their way. The jungle was so thick that It took them nearly ten minutes to make their way to the edge of the fast moving steam. On reaching the water, Lily knelt in the dark moss on the bank of the stream and reached down with one hand, scooping up the water and sampling it. She knew she should have had it tested first, but all of their survey equipment had been on the rover, which was probably lying in pieces somewhere by now. Fortunately the water didn't kill her. In fact it tasted identical to the water they had been drinking in the mines, although it was just a little warmer.

"Major," Hawke said softly, tugging on her jacket.

Lily looked at him, annoyed at being interrupted. Before she could say anything though, she noticed that he was staring at something above her, a look of fear on his face. She quickly glanced up and what she saw made her fall backwards with shock. "What the hell is that," she demanded.

The vast shape seemed to hang in the air above them, like some gigantic alien squid. It was long, so long that Lily couldn't even see the far end, and wide enough to fill the entire canyon. It took Lily several seconds to recognise the shape, remembering a briefing she been present at five years ago. There, she had been shown pictures of a Vorlon war cruiser and its escorts massed outside Babylon 5. That sight had been frightening enough, but to see one of the huge war cruisers up close was terrifying.

Since the end of the civil war she had heard stories from starfury pilots who had fought against the shadows. A few pilots had returned to Earth from Babylon 5 and they bought with them tales of fighting against the Vorlons and another race they called the Shadows. In the briefing and in the stories, the ships had always been green, but although this one was a pale white, there was not doubting the shape.

"A Vorlon warship," Hawke breathed. "What the hell is one of those things doing here."

"I don't know," Lily replied, pushing her fear aside and examining the ship as if it was something to analyse, instead of a gigantic alien warship that could probably fry her and this entire forest in a nanosecond. She suddenly noticed the rows of walkways along the sides of the canyon walls, as well as the braziers that had been scattered along them. "It looks like they almost worship the thing though," she said, pointing to the flames leaping up from the metal braziers.

"This is a Vorlon world," Hawke reminded her. "Perhaps they worship the Vorlons and this is their idol."

"Perhaps," Lily murmured. It didn't seem like the aliens she had seen though. They worshipped their Mistress and no-one else, and after having come face to face with Jeanne, Lily didn't think it was likely that she would allow them to worship anyone else either, especially the Vorlons. That then raised the question of exactly why a Vorlon cruiser was sitting here in this canyon. After Jeanne's reaction, Lily didn't think that the she would have wanted to have anything to do with Vorlon technology.

Just then, the sound of something scrapping against metal snapped her attention away from the ship and reminded her that she was not supposed to get caught. She grabbed Hawke's arm and dragged him back into the forest. When he tried to complain, she held a finger to her lip and whispered, "be quiet." With her other hand, she pointed above them, toward a dark bridge that crossed the canyon, high above the tree tops.

Hawke nodded and pulled himself beneath a large overhanging leaf, frightening a sleeping lizard at the same time. As the lizard screeched at Drake, Lily also moved back out of the line of sight. She couldn't see who was on the bridge, but she could hear the sound of footsteps. They sounded a lot like the alien's footsteps, with the scrapping of claws across metal.

There was quite a few of them, but they moved quickly, not appearing to notice her or Hawke hiding beneath them. Then, just when she thought it was time to come out, another set of footsteps could be heard, lighter than the first ones. Whatever the creature was, it quickly passed across the bridge, almost as though it was running. Then the sound of distant voices echoed could be heard. Neither Hawke nor Lily could pick up the details, but they sounded as thought they were speaking in English. Of course, on this world that didn't mean a lot.

Hawke glanced across at her and inclined his head in the direction of the cave mouth, silently asking if they should leg it. Lily shook her head, and signalled for him to wait. Hawke nodded his understanding and sat still. It was a good thing he did too, as another two group of creatures passed overhead, all going in the same direction. With the third group, Lily also noticed a light passing travelling along the bridge at the same time, probably either a torch or one of those light globes. Then, everything went quiet again. The light was switched off and soon even the voices faded away. However, Lily still waited another ten minutes before coming out of hiding, just to be sure.

"A patrol?" Hawke asked as he stood up, brushing off dirt and crawling insects. 

"Probably, "Lily replied, stretching her legs to try and relieve a soreness that was starting to set in. "Lets get back to the tunnel," she said, retrieving her pick and leading the way down the path of hacked up vegetation they had created.

"What do we do now, then?"

Lily looked up at the canyon walls. "We get out of here," she replied firmly. "There must be a way up these walls, all we have to do is find it. After that, we can get out of this hellhole and back to the Rasputin. Then, I intend on having a long, hot bath and spending a couple of days in bed."

"Sounds good to me, Major," Hawke replied, shouldering his pick.

 

* * *

 

Morkazz hurried into the throne room, his brown robe swirling around him as he hobbled along. "Mistress," he called out excitedly, before hesitating and peering intently at the figure on the throne. "Mistress?" he asked cautiously. "Is that you?"

"It is me, Morkazz," Jeanne confirmed. "I needed to change my appearance a little as part of my plan. Now what is so important that you would actually try to run?"

Morkazz stared at Jeanne for another full second before finally deciding that the figure on the throne was indeed his Mistress. "The Human's have finally arrived," he told her. "Azrak is guiding them through the outer reaches of the city right now."

"Is he now," Jeanne mused, flicking two controls on her throne. "Do you know which district he is travelling through?"

As the large display screen slid smoothly out of its alcove and began to lower itself toward the floor, Morkazz replied, "Azrak reported that he took the stairs from new road, so I would think they would be in the outer warehouse sector by now, probably just outside the satellite control facility."

Jeanne nodded and tapped another control. The screen cleared to show a long, empty corridor. Jeanne frowned and tapped a few more controls, flipping through nearly twenty different camera views before finally finding the correct one. Azrak and his squad were leading the small group of eight Humans down the corridor towards the main elevator, which meant they would arrive outside her throne room in around ten minutes at the latest.

A few more alterations to the view and Jeanne had zoomed in on the group of Humans. She quickly dismissed most of them as unimportant, probably just soldiers, and focused on the three who were leading the party. One was a tall man in civilian clothing, with a large pack on his back, who didn't look like an Earthforce officer. The other two were women and Jeanne quickly passed over the blonde one and focused instead on the slightly taller woman in the Earthforce uniform, obviously the leader of this particular group. With a sudden stab of annoyance she realised that she had seen the officer before, several times in fact. "I know her, Morkazz," she said, pointing towards the woman on the screen. "That is Commander Ivanova from Babylon 5."

"Captain," Morkazz corrected. When Jeanne turned to stare at him quizzically, he quickly added, "she became a Captain after she left Babylon 5. They said so on ISN."

"I didn't know that," Jeanne replied, tapping her fingers on the arm of her throne.

"If you remember, Mistress, you stopped watching after... they disappeared, and only started again a few weeks ago. A lot happened in that short time."

"So it seems," Jeanne mused. "Is there anything else I should know about? I know you enjoy watching ISN."

"I have seen all the episodes," he said proudly. "At least up until the signal was lost. I even saw the episode where the evil president killed himself. Of course we didn't know he was evil then, they said he was good and everyone from Babylon 5 was bad. But he turned out to be evil and Sheridan turned up and saved Earth before the president could kill everyone. It was very exciting because everyone thought that Sheridan was going to attack Earth, but he didn't."

"I was aware of that," Jeanne interrupted. Actually she hadn't been. Ever since the Vorlon departed, she had no longer felt the need to watch any of the alien networks and with the Vorlon networks now silent there had been nothing of interest to her, at least not until the IPX survey vessel had landed on this world. She knew that if she ordered him to, Morkazz would have told her everything that had occurred on Earth over the past year or so, but she didn't have the time for that right now. On the screen she could see Azrak's party drawing closer and closer. All her plans had been depending on encountering someone who didn't know the Vorlons, which Ivanova obviously did. This would require a change of tactics. Turning back to her counsellor, she asked, "Morkazz, can you send a messenger to Azrak before he reaches the elevator?" 

The counsellor peered at the screen and then nodded in confirmation. "That should be easy Mistress. One of the guards outside the throne room should be able to run down to that section before Azrak arrives."

"Good, do so then. Tell the General to take the humans through the central plaza first."

"That will take him at least half an hour," Morkazz reminded her, sounding confused as to why Jeanne would want Azrak to take longer to arrive.

"Good," she replied. "Now hurry, send the messenger and return."

After a quickly bow, Morkazz hurried off towards the doors. As soon as he was gone, Jeanne turned her attention back to the screen. This sudden discovery of Ivanova's presence raised some serious problems. She had been hoping that the commander of the rescue vessel would be a typical Earthforce officer, not someone like Ivanova. Several of her options were now gone, as she didn't imagine that she could use bribes or offers of technology. It was obvious that anyone who had broken away from their own government over a matter of principal would probably not allow herself to be bribed. There was, of course, always the chance that a direct exchange of the prisoners for her freedom might work, but she knew that many humans had strange ideas about paying ransoms. It had been so much simpler when she had been on Earth, with rulers regularly paying ransoms to release their soldiers and nobles from enemy captivity. That attitude appeared to have changed considerably since the last time she had seen Earth though.

Which left her with very little to work with. In fact, there was really only one thing to try and it was the last thing she really wanted to use. Jeanne knew that Ivanova had seen the Vorlons at their worst, and also had been present on Babylon 5 when Kosh had revealed himself, well appeared to reveal himself anyway. The truth might work on her, but it was always a risk. To someone who didn't know anything about the Vorlons, the truth was so improbable that they would automatically dismiss it as a lie. Which left the question, did Ivanova know enough about the Vorlons to understand the truth when she heard it?

"It is done, Mistress," Morkazz said as he hurried back into the throne room, interrupting Jeanne's musing.

Jeanne nodded. That would give her a few more minutes to prepare, which might just be enough to work out a way to convince Ivanova to do what she wanted done. "Good," she said. "Now, I need you do something else for me."

"Anything, Mistress," the counsellor replied with a low bow.

A flicker of a smile crossed Jeanne's face. It soon faded though and she tapped her finger on the lid of a large chest that sat next to the throne. "I want this removed," she told the counsellor. "It is no longer of any use to me."

Morkazz stared at the heavy chest of gems. "I will get some of the warriors to take it away. Do I take it to the artisans?"

Jeanne was about to say yes, before another use for the gems crossed her mind. "No, put them in storage, I will have need of them one day. Once that is done, arrange for some extra lights to be bought to this room, as well as chairs, a table and some of our best food."

The counsellor nodded and once again hurried out of the throne room to call in some guards. As he left, Jeanne allowed herself to sink into the shadows, darkening the room around her. She felt herself growing in confidence again, now sure that she could convince Ivanova of her plight. Everyone had their price and Jeanne was sure that the truth would be a high enough price to convince the woman she was watching on her monitor.

 

* * *

 

"We must go this way," Azrak said, pointing down a narrow corridor that ran off the one they had been following ever since they had left the canyon.

"I thought you said we were going down this corridor," Susan reminded him, looking suspiciously at the narrow, dark passage that the general had indicated.

"We were, now we must go this way."

Susan nodded, but glared suspiciously at the messenger who was heading back along the main corridor. She hadn't caught what he had said, but knew there must have been a sudden change in the General's orders. She had considered using her telepathic powers to find out, but still didn't feel comfortable scanning someone's mind. She couldn't stop herself from picking up Azrak's surface thoughts though, which were so strong they broke through all her blocks. Those thoughts told her the general was extremely annoyed with his new orders. She hoped that was a good thing, and that the General had been asked to do something that he didn't like and it wasn't something that might effect her.

"Come," Azrak said again, pointing angrily down the corridor.

"Captain?" Drake asked, looking questioningly at her, obviously wondering if her slight hesitation wasn't due to a sudden change of mind about cooperating with the aliens.

"Let's go," Susan replied, pointing down the narrow corridor.

Drake nodded and followed her as she stepped into the passage. Azrak and his warrior waited until all the Humans had passed and then also followed, the General muttering something about wasting time. The passage itself took a fair amount of time to traverse, running for nearly five hundred metres. Several times other passage branched off it, but the General always pointed them along the narrow passage. Finally it ended, and opened up into a gigantic cave.

"What is this place?" Susan asked breathlessly, looking around at the thousands of aliens who were busy with their work. Many stopped to peer back at her, before continuing on their way. All appeared to be smaller in size than the General and his warriors, most having light green scales instead of the dark purple of the warriors.

"This is the great plaza," the General explained. "Apparently the Mistress wanted you to see this before continuing on."

"It's amazing," Susan said, stepping out onto the smooth tiles that made up the floor. Ahead, a railing circled around a vast lake which filled most of the plaza. The water bubbled and steam rose from the lake's surface, a sure sign that it was probably close to boiling. Despite this fact, there were a large number of aliens playing in the water, splashing each other and tossing balls and other objects around. It was reminiscent of scenes common on a thousand beaches all over Earth, except the playful beings in the pool were obviously not Human, and the water was a lot hotter than any Human could survive.

"It is the pool," Azrak said. Then he pointed towards the levels of buildings and tunnels that were built along the walls of the gigantic cave. "There are the artisan's shops and the restaurants."

"You have restaurants?" Susan asked, looking surprised.

"Of course," the General replied. "You may trade items for food there."

"You don't have money then," Dr. Melis cut in, a strangely excited look in his eye as he glanced around the room. The archaeologist was obviously enjoying himself tremendously.

"No. The Mistress does not allow money, it is against her sacred laws. She says that to have money will make us greedy, like Humans, and that is a bad thing. We are only permitted to trade our goods and services for the things that we desire. Of course, the warriors are given a certain amount of goods each week, as we need to be strong to protect this world from creatures such as yourself."

"We don't mean you any harm," Susan tried to explain. "All we want to do is collect our companions and leave. We have no intention of remaining here."

"We will see," Azrak replied, not sounding convinced. "Now, we must go. My orders were to show you the grand plaza. That I have done, now we must return to the main corridor." He pointed back down the passage they had just left. "Go that way."

Susan looked down the tunnel and sighed, but allowed herself to be guided away from the plaza and along the narrow, stuffy passage again. The journey didn't seem as long this time though and they soon found themselves walking back along the main corridor. That corridor soon ended, running into a small room that the General identified as some kind of elevator. After hustling everyone into the small room, he ordered it to take them to the throne room. There was only the faintest sensation of movement, much less than any elevator Susan had ever been on, and then the doors opened again, looking out on a new corridor. 

"This way," Azrak said, pointing towards a large set of golden doors that lay at the end of the corridor. A large group of warriors were gathered around the doors, and piled nearby were their packs and other equipment, which had somehow managed to beat them here. After a brief glance behind her to ensure everyone was still with them, Susan allowed Azrak to guide her towards the great doors.

 

* * *

 

At the southern end of the great canyon, where a small waterfall cascaded over mossy rocks to form a small stream, Major Logan and Private Hawke stood, scanning the cliff walls. "This appears to be the only way up, Major," Hawke said, pointing towards the stairs that ended about fifty metres above them. "There doesn't appear to be any direct route from the canyon floor to the top of the cliffs and this is the only bridge or stairs that comes even close. I have the rest of the scouting parties still looking around for something they might have missed earlier, but it doesn't look like there is any other way."

"We are going to have to climb up there then," Lily replied, scanning the cliff wall for hand holds and ledges that would make it possible to climb the fifty metres or so to the ledge where the stairs ended and the long bridge began. She knew that they had go up here. Already too much time had been wasted searching the jungle for an escape route, and before long the aliens would discover that they were missing. "Recall the scouting parties, this is were we go up."

"It doesn't look very easy," Hawke noted. "Most of the civilians won't be able to make it without some sort of assistance. In fact, I'm not sure I could even climb up something like that."

"I can make it," Lily told him.

"Are you sure, Major?" Hawke said, not sounding convinced. "You have been working fairly hard on the tunnel, and a climb like that won't be easy."

"I said I can make it," Lily growled angrily. "Don't question me. I'm fine and if I say I can do it, then I can."

"Of course, Major," Hawke stuttered, taking a step back. "I was just concerned for you, that's all."

"Don't be. There is nothing wrong with me and I wouldn't try to do something if I didn't think it would succeed. I used to go rock climbing for fun back on Earth, so I know what I am doing."

"What about everyone else then? How do we get them up there?"

Lily looked around the jungle. Her eyes fell on a long, creeping vine that had wrapped itself around a nearby tree. Most of the vines were too old and dried out to be of any use, but some of the younger vines still looked pliable enough to be useable. "We could make a rope or a ladder out of these vines," she said, pointing them out of Hawke. "It might be strong enough to hold together until we got everyone up there."

Hawke looked doubtfully at the vines, but lacking a better idea of his own, nodded slowly in agreement. "It might work," he admitted. "We would need to find something to bind it all together though. Once that it done, then all we need is for someone to climb up there and attach it to something."

"That will be me," Lily said, her tone of voice not inviting argument.

"I guess all we have to do is construct a ladder then," Hawke replied. "Shall I recall all the scouting parties?"

Lily nodded and looked back at the cliff and the ledge, her mind already working on the best route for climbing the almost sheer cliff face. As Hawke had already pointed out, it wasn't going to be an easy climb, but as long as her strength didn't give way halfway up, then she should be able to make it easily.

 

* * *

 

The robed alien glared at General Azrak, and Azrak glared back. "I want to be there when these creatures are meeting with the Mistress," he demanded. "They are dangerous and may try to hurt her, remember what happened with the last one, Counsellor Morkazz."

"The Mistress was not injured," the alien called Morkazz replied. "It is also her wishes that she meet with these creatures alone, without any of your warriors present."

"It is obvious to me that the Mistress has not been well," Azrak argued. "She does not know what she is doing. These creatures will try to hurt her, just like the other one." 

"You would not want to go against her wishes, would you?"

Standing behind Azrak, Susan could hear everything that was being said, and realised what the General was worrying about. If she had been in his position, then she probably wouldn't have let anyone in with weapons either. However, after nearly five minutes of this argument, she had had quite enough. "How about if we leave our weapons behind," she suggested, interrupting the two alien's before they could continue arguing.

They both stared at her for several seconds before Azrak muttered, "that would be acceptable, but only two of you may enter at once. The rest must remain here, so I can keep watch and ensure that they don't intend to hurt the Mistress."

Morkazz's eye ridges drooped in the Arisian equivalent of a frown. "The Mistress did not say that she only wanted to see two. I assumed that she wanted to see all of you."

"I'm sure two will be fine," Susan interrupted again, wanting to get this argument over and done with. It had been a long walk today and she was growing tired of the constant run-around she had been receiving from Azrak. She wanted to get this meeting over and done with, so she could retrieve Major Logan and the rest of the missing crew and get off this hell of a world. Even Proxima III, with its burning deserts and hostile native life forms, hadn't been as trying as Arias.

Azrak looked at her again. "Very well, two is acceptable, but I don't want any warrior anywhere near the Mistress. One you and one of the other workers may enter."

Morkazz sighed and looked over the group of humans in front of him. Spotting one that didn't look like a warrior, he pointed to Talia and said, "you will go along with Captain Ivanova." When Azrak didn't argue, he continued, "the rest will remain here, until the Mistress desires your presence or it is time for you to leave."

"Then we are going to be allowed to leave again?" Susan asked.

The robed counsellor looked surprised at her comment. "Of course," he replied. "The Mistress does not want you to remain here, that would achieve nothing. She only wishes you to meet with her so that she can talk to you and arrange the terms for the release of your friends."

"Terms," Drake muttered from his location off to one side, where he had been quietly training his rifle on the General. "I don't like the sound of that."

Morkazz ignored him and looked over at Susan with a pleasant smile, or rather what looked more like an upturned snarl, on his face. "Shall we continue?" he asked, sweeping his hand towards the huge golden doors that waited behind him. "The Mistress awaits to meet you."

"Let's go," Susan agreed, stepping forward.

Morkazz looked pleased and directed two guards to push the doors open. As they swung smoothly open, he looked across at Susan and asked, "Can I have your autograph?"

"What!"

The counsellor looked confused. "Isn't that what I am suppose to do? I saw this program on ISN, the Academy Awards it was called, and everyone there was asking their favourite people for autographs. As you are my favourite person on ISN, I thought I would ask you for one."

"I'm not a vid star," Susan corrected him, while Talia struggled to hide her amusement. "I'm just a soldier. I have never even considered acting."

"But you are on ISN all the time," Morkazz argued, fingering a piece of paper and what looked suspiciously like a quill pen. "I thought that you must be very famous. I watch all the time you see, and I know all about what happens, even more than the Mistress."

Realising that the quickest way to end this was to sign the paper, Susan snatched it out of the counsellors hand and quickly scrawled her signature across the middle of the strip of paper. Then she handed both it and the quill back to Morkazz and marched away through the door. The counsellor looked pleased, and quickly stuffed the paper into a hidden pocket before hurrying after her.

<I didn't know you were so famous, Susan> Talia teased.  <Does this mean that I have to book you through your agent.> Any further comment was cut off as Talia came to a sudden halt, staring in shock at the creature that awaited them inside the throne room.

The doors behind them swung shut, coming together with little more than a faint click. No-one really noticed though, they were too busy staring across the huge room. Even Morkazz looked a little surprised by the effect that the Mistress had managed to create with the extra lights and her servant's assistance. Instead of her normal drab appearance, she now looked more like a fairytale princess, with a long white and pink gown, encrusted with tiny gemstones. Her dark hair had been brushed until it shone, and had also been dusted with crushed gems, making it sparkle in the light.

Susan looked stunned, before glancing across at Morkazz and asking, "that's your Mistress?"

The counsellor looked surprised by the question. "Of course," he replied. "Who else would be in the throne room."

"But she's Human."

"Not exactly, Captain Ivanova," a soft feminine voice interrupted. "I don't think you could describe me as Human any more." Susan spun around to stare at the throne. "Won't you join me," the girl on the throne continued, indicating the chairs that had been arranged before her. "I have been looking forward to meeting you for some time. We have much to discuss."

 

* * *

 

Back in the canyon, a small group had gathered near the waterfall. Standing close to the cliff face, carefully examining it for possible hand holds, Lily was steeling herself for the long climb ahead. It was only around fifty metres, but it was almost straight up, and with her muscles complaining every step of the way, it wasn't going to be easy. Behind her, most of the rest of the prisoners had gathered, all working hard to complete the rope ladder she was going to carry up to the ledge.

"This is foolishness," Curran said, coming up behind Lily and peering up at the distant ledge. "You can't possible make it all the way up there, at least not in your condition."

"My condition?" Lily asked, trying to sound as though she didn't know what the Sturt's first officer was talking about. "I assure you, I am fine."

"That's not what Dr. Abbado has been telling me," Curran replied. "He said that the virus he detected in your system has spread throughout your body and by all rights you should be dead by now."

"I don't feel dead," Lily said. "A little tired perhaps, but nothing I can't handle. You can tell Dr. Abbado that there must be something wrong with his instruments."

"You don't believe that any more than I do," Curran muttered. "There is something going on that you're not telling us."

"If there was something to tell, then I would tell you. But there is nothing. I feel no different than I normally do. I can make this climb, in fact I am the only one who can make it."

"I don't know why you are bothering. They probably have guards waiting for you at the top of the stairs anyway. We are better off waiting for Earthforce to send a proper rescue mission."

Lily stared at him incredulously. "You don't call the most powerful ship in the fleet a proper rescue mission?"

"It's obviously not enough. You ended up captured, just as we did. We need a proper rescue mission, troops, tanks and that sort of thing, not just a couple of rovers with people who obviously don't know what they are doing."

Lily fought down a sudden urge to thump Curran and was fortunately persuaded against that move by the timely arrival of Dr. Janet Petrilli, who was heading the team of scientists working on the ladder. "We have finished, Major," Petrilli said, completely unaware of the argument she was interrupting. "Just in case, I had sixty five metres of ladder made, so we will have plenty left over if the distance turns out of be more than fifty metres."

"Good work, Doctor," Lily said, sounding pleased. She turned to watch as ladder the scientist's team had put together was carried out of the jungle and dumped onto the ground nearby. It was long, and it took several people to carry the heavy vines, but it appeared to be holding together well enough. Hopefully it would last long enough for everyone to make it out of the canyon and up to whatever lay beyond.

"Will this do, Major?" Janet Petrilli asked as the last of the ladder was lowered to the ground. "Everyone is rather tired, but we can recheck it if you want."

"That should be just fine," Lily replied, looking more than a little surprised at the ladder Petrilli and her team had managed to come up with after less than an hour's work. Long vines had been unwound from around trees and bound together with metallic wire stripped out of the walls of the living quarters. The result was a solid looking construct, which appeared strong enough to hold even the most overweight of the scientists. It probably wasn't the best they could do, but as Lily wanted to get out of the canyon before anyone noticed they were missing, it would have to do.

"Are you still sure that you want to do this?" Hawke, who had been helping carry the ladder, asked. He handed her a thin, metallic wire that someone had wrapped tightly with torn strips of cloth, most of it from the Major's own shirt.

"Can anyone else do it?" Lily asked, taking the wire and wrapping it tightly around her middle. The other end was attached to the rope ladder, which she would need to haul up and attach to a rock or something once she made it onto the ledge. She was then to lower the rock down on the other side of the bridge, using it as a counter-weight, so the heavy ladder could be hauled into position by those below.

"I could try," Hawke offered, not looking overly enthusiastic.

"Do you think you can make it?"

"Probably not," Hawke admitted.

"Better leave this to me then," Lily told him. "It is my plan, so if anyone is going to risk their lives, then it should be me." She turned and looked at Curran, who was looking up at the cliff and shaking his head. "Mr. Curran. I want you to look after things down here, get everyone ready to leave, that sort of thing. Once I make it up to that ledge and secure the ladder, I want everyone ready to climb up as quickly as possible. If you have anything you want to take with you, then make sure it is waiting here."

"Be right back," a voice called, and everyone turned to watch as Nicolai Luchenko tore off through the jungle.

Lily frowned at the retreating back of the president's errant nephew, before turning to Hawke. "Make sure we have plenty of water gathered, Private," she ordered. "I don't know how far it is back to the Sturt, or even which direction it is from here, so we are going to need something to drink. Also collect as much of that meat they have been feeding us as you can. It may not taste that appetising, but no-one is going to complain if that is all we have to eat."

"Anderson is already taking care of that, Major," Hawke replied. "I will go and double check though."

"Good," Lily said, turning back to the cliff and looking up at the her goal. Remembering one last thing she had to take care of, she turned to Curran. "Mr. Curran. If I don't make it and fall to my death, then I want you to take over. Try and get everyone out of here one way or the other. Whatever happens, promise me that you will try to escape."

Curran was about to argue, but through better of it at the last moment and nodded instead. Lily smiled at him and then started up the cliff face. Pushing her feet off the ground, she jumped up and grabbed hold of the closest ledge to the ground. It was only narrow, but it was just wide enough to pull herself up onto it. Then, bracing her feet against the ledge, she began to clamber up rest of the rock face.

She moved as quickly as she could, but the hand holds were so spread out that she had to take special care with each one. This made the journey a lot slower than Lily would have liked, but at least ensured her safety. At least it did until she was halfway up the sheer cliff face. Hanging by her fingernails from a tiny ledge, the muscles in her arms and shoulders aching terribly, Lily searched around for something to move onto next. Eventually she spotted a small outcropping of rock, nearly two metres to her right and slightly below her. From there it would be easy enough to climb the rest of the way without any further risk, but she had to make it there first.

Mindful of the twenty five metre drop to the ground that would await her if she slipped, Lily edged across the ledge until she was as close as she could get to the outcropping. Closing her eyes, she breathed in deeply, and then flung herself in the direction of the outcropping, reaching for the rough rock. To those on the ground it must have appeared as though she was falling, because there was a collective gasp from the prisoners gathered to watch her.

Her aim had been true though, and her outstretched hands struck the rock firmly. Ignoring the screaming pain in her fingertips, as sharp rock tore open her flesh, Lily gripped at the outcropping with all her strength. She hung there for several seconds, calming her wildly beating heart, before pulling herself up again and continuing on up the cliff. As she had predicted, the rest of the climb was fairly easy, with a good number of ledges and other hand holds for her to reach for. Finally, ten minutes latter, she reached the ledge where the stairs were and collapsed onto the rough rock, breathing heavily after such a difficult climb.

Remembering the wire she had attached to her waist, Lily pulled up some of slack so it wouldn't fall down again and then began to unwind it. Finding a suitable rock, she attached it to the wire and dropped it over the far side of the bridge. It fell into the jungle below, where it was collected by Curran and several others. They quickly began to haul on the wire and on the Lily's side of the bridge the rope ladder began to rise slowly up towards the ledge. 

Lily smiled, and sat down on the bottom step to wait for the ladder to arrive. It was then that she remembered the cuts she had gained when she had grabbed hold of the outcropping. Holding up her hands for examination, she noticed that the blood had already dried, which was rather unusual as she continued on climbing after the injury. Normally they would still be bleeding, and raw, but that didn't appear to be the case this time. Curious, she scrapped away some of the dried blood with a fingernail, before staring at her fingertips in shock. There was no trace of any injury, just the almost invisible scars that showed where the rock had cut into her. "What the hell?" she muttered, a cold chill running down her spine. "What has that witch done to me?"

 

* * *

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER TEN   


* * *

 

"Just who the hell are you?" Susan asked quietly, finally accepting the dark-haired girl's offer and sitting down on one the cushioned seats that had been arranged before the throne.

"Who am I?" the girl replied, a faint smile flickering across her bloodless lips. "I have been asked that same question over and over so many times, that it hardly has any meaning for me any more." Pausing for a second, she glanced over at three green-scaled servants who were waiting nearby. "Remove the extra chairs and bring some food and drink for my guests," she told them, before turning back to the two Humans sitting before her. "But, if it pleases you to give me a name, then you may call me Jeanne. That was the name I was given in my mortal existence, and while it has little meaning to me now, it is as good a name as any other."

The bustling activity of the servants as they cleared away the surplus chairs, interrupted any further question for a moment. Susan waited until the servants returned with several trays of food and then departed again, returning to their stations off to one side. Jumping in before anyone else, Morkazz reached down and picked up a plate of green, jelly-like cubes, before retreating behind the throne to munch on them in peace.

"Eat," Jeanne urged Susan, indicating the vast array of food and drink that had been placed on the table. "This is the finest food of this world and it would considered a great dishonour if you were to refuse it. They are all suitable for your digestive system, so you need not fear injury."

Susan nodded and selected a few of the less alien looking foods and piled them onto one of the silver plates that had been provided. Talia proved to be more adventurous and selected a wide variety of foods, including a crystal glass full of a fizzy purple drink. "You are not eating?" the blonde telepath asked Jeanne, as she settled back into her seat.

A look of pain briefly flashed across Jeanne's face. "I... I can not eat such foods."

"Why not," Susan asked suspiciously, eyeing the food on her plate as if it was about to jump up and bite her.

Jeanne didn't answer the question, instead she sat back and watched as Talia sampled the delicacies she had provided. Susan stared at her for several seconds, before finally trying one of the dishes. Soon the only sounds in the vast room were the occasional chewing noises from Morkazz and the whistle of the wind outside, as it brushed against the tall, strained glass windows. Several times the servants returned to clean away unwanted food, or to replace a plate that was now empty.

Morkazz appeared to have taken a shine to the green jelly, and devoured several plates full before Jeanne finally called a stop. Calling over her servants, she directed them to take the rest of the food to the Humans waiting outside the throne room. The was another brief pause as the plates were gathered up and placed back on their trays. Then the three servants retreated from the throne room, leaving a wistful Morkazz looking forlornly at the now empty table.

"Now we can begin," Jeanne said softly. "I assume that you have many, many questions and I will attempt to answer them in time. But first, let me explain my position. Is that acceptable?" After a nod from Susan, Jeanne continued. "I know you will be wondering why I have detained your companions and you are probably quite angry at me about that. But, nothing I do is without reason. You see, my followers here were very concerned that the newcomers to their world would try and steal it from them, so I had to take action. Your companions have been arrested, mostly for their own good, and must be held until I am sure they - and you - no longer threaten this world."

"And when will that be?" Susan asked sarcastically. "When they are dead?"

Jeanne shook her head, causing a small cascade of gemstone chips to flutter down, like a shower of tiny lights. "I would be willing to release them today... if you are willing to pay the small fee I demand."

"What is it?" Susan demanded, not sounding at all pleased with the idea of a ransom.

"My freedom," Jeanne replied, her eyes glinting fiercely. "If I am freed from this prison that surrounds me, then your companions will no longer threaten this world and they can be released."

"No way," Susan replied firmly. "Earthforce does not negotiate with terrorists. Release the prisoners and then we will talk."

"Susan..." Talia began, before she was cut off by Jeanne.

Jeanne leaned forward on her throne and smiled menacingly. "I assure you, Captain Ivanova, if I wished to caused terror, I could." Then her face softened and grew sadder. "But that is not my way. I am not a terrorist, just a sick and tired old woman who sees your arrival here as her one last chance to see some of the universe before she dies."

"You don't look very old, or at all sick," Susan said disbelievingly.

Jeanne sighed deeply and looked away for a second, glancing over at the throne room's windows. "I am older than I look," she said softly. "Do you see those windows? How old do you think they are?"

Susan gaze swept across the room, before falling on the closest of the windows, an image of a large warrior clutching a long tube of some kind. She couldn't tell the age, it could have been ten years old, or it could have been a hundred. Finally she settled somewhere in between, and answered, "Fifty?"

Jeanne shook her head and looked up at Morkazz. "Tell her, Counsellor."

Morkazz nodded and stepped forward. "They are nearly three hundred years old," he said proudly. "They show the greatest of our race, all of warriors and artisans whose achievements have done something to improve this world are honoured here. It is every hatchling's dream to one day be honoured in this way."

"So?"

"I was over five centuries old when the first of those windows was constructed," Jeanne explained. "Ever since then, nearly three hundred years now, I have not left the confines of the throne room or rooms above it. To do so would mean my death, as I do not have the energy to survive in the world outside. The temperature here is adjusted perfect to suit my condition, but outside of this place the cold would kill me. I want you to end this imprisonment and in return I will release your companions unharmed and a great deal wealthier than they were before their stay with me."

"I'm not sure I understand," Susan replied, frowning. "You can't leave this room, right? Why don't you get some of these creatures to carry you to where you want to go, or use that ship we saw back in the canyon. What can we do, that you can't do yourself."

"They are not creatures, Captain," Jeanne replied. "You will address the people of this world as either Arisians, or as my followers. Do not dishonour them with other titles. Now to your questions. I have attempted everything to free myself. As you already suggested, I had some of my followers carry me, in an attempt to escape this cursed cloud that hangs over us. The attempt failed, and I nearly died in the process. I am vulnerable to cold and although the temperature outside may only be a little lower than this room, the difference is enough to seriously weaken me. I also require food to keep myself alive. As you noticed before, I can no longer eat most Human foods, just those that are very high in energy. Instead, I require a more pure form of energy to live. Sunlight is best, but heat can also be enough. Unfortunately neither is common here. As for the ship, it is suffering as much as me. It too requires light to survive, and until it get what it needs, it will sleep."

"How do you survive, then?" Talia inquired.

Jeanne waved a hand in the direction of a small door on the left hand side of the throne room. "I have created an elixir that will sustain me. It is not perfect, but I have survived long enough on it to live for eight hundred years, and I suspect that I may still have another fifty to live before the elixir is no longer enough."

"So what is it you want us to do?" Susan asked.

"I want you to remove the cloud that covers this part of the world," Jeanne replied, pointing towards the ceiling. "With that gone, the sun will again shine and I will be free to absorb its energy. Then, I will be free of this constant agony that fills me and my people will be able to walk among the stars with the other races. If you do this then I will return to you those I have kept prisoner, but not before."

"How the hell can we remove a weather pattern," Susan demanded. "We can't just reach down and pluck it out of the sky for you, and none of our weapons will have much effect on it."

"But they can, Captain. Not on the storm itself, of course, but on the machine that creates it. Destroy the machine and the storm will fade away, allowing sunlight to again fall on this world."

"It's an artificial storm?" Talia gasped. "Dr. Melis was right then."

"That doesn't sound very likely," Susan argued. "I have heard of weather control technology, the Centauri have it, but nothing like this. How can something make a storm remain in one place like that for eight hundred years? Let alone create such a huge storm in the first place."

"You are have only seen the technology of the minor races," Jeanne replied. "There are other, much older races that know considerably more than races like the Centauri will ever discover."

"You mean the Vorlons, don't you?"

Jeanne's face twitched for a second, before she answered in careful, measured, almost painful tones. "Yes, the... Vorlons," she replied with a choking rasp, forcing herself to say their name. "They created the device that drives the storm and they were responsible for my imprisonment here in the first place."

"We saw the warning pillars they built," Susan told Jeanne. "They said that you were dangerous and that you could not be allowed to escape. They sounded almost as though they were afraid of you."

"I am sure they did," Jeanne replied, almost laughing.

"Why?"

Jeanne smiled faintly, but her eyes looked sad. "It is a long story, Captain, one I am loath to tell. I am not sure you would understand everything either."

"How can we trust you, then?" Susan asked. "You are asking us to release you from this world. Even if that's possible, and I'm still not sure it is, then how do we know that what the Vorlons said isn't true. I can't release you if you are a threat to Earth."

"I no longer have any interest in that world," Jeanne said. "Once, long ago, all I wanted was to go back to Earth, and had I returned, then your world would have been a very different place. Imagine a world where space travel had been achieved in the fifteenth century, and all the world had been united under one ruler. Humanity would have controlled much of the galaxy by now."

"Under your leadership, of course," Susan muttered, having seen enough petty tyrants in her life to recognise the way Jeanne was talking.

Jeanne smiled at her. "Of course, back then I wanted to rule the entire world, to reshape it into the image I imagined it should have been. I would have succeeded too, the Vorlons knew that, which was part of the reason they stuck me here. They didn't want me to interfere with their plans."

"That's what the Vorlon in the swamp said," Susan replied, remembering the crashed transport they had discovered in the swamp while looking for the Sturt. "He said that if you escaped, they would die and their cause would be lost with them."

A strange look came over Jeanne's face. "Vorlon in the swamp? What Vorlon in the swamp. There are no Vorlons on this world, if there were I would have killed them. What are you talking about?"

"There was a crashed Vorlon transport," Susan explained, slightly concerned about Jeanne's last statement about killing a Vorlon. If it was possible, then she faced a very powerful being indeed. If not, then Jeanne was obviously deranged, which could make her just as dangerous. "We went to examine it, and discovered that part of a Vorlon remained trapped inside. It spoke to me, asking me to take over from it as guardian of this world."

Jeanne looked thoughtful, glancing over at the window which depicted the warrior again. "There was a Vorlon ship that came near this world," she mused, as much to herself as to either of her guests. "It was three hundred years ago now. I created a weapon to destroy it, and it crashed into the swamp. None of the search parties found anything, despite scouring the swamps for nearly a full month. If anything was out there, they would have found it... unless, of course, it was being hidden. If there was a Vorlon, or even part of the Vorlon alive inside it, then it might have been able to hide itself from view." She suddenly stopped speaking are glared suspiciously at Susan. "Why did it speak to you then?"

"Perhaps, because we were the first non-native beings to wander by," Susan suggested, feeling slightly nervous. She knew the only reason she had picked up on the Vorlon's presence was because she had been a telepath. She wasn't about to tell Jeanne that though, preferring to keep her abilities a secret for now, so she would have something to fall back on should things go badly.

"That is unlikely," Jeanne replied, dismissing Susan's suggestion. "The Vorlons were not aware of the presence of any intelligent life on this world before they left me here. They would not have know the difference between you and one of my followers."

"Perhaps they knew more than you thought they did."

"No, there must be another explanation," Jeanne replied, irritably tapping her sharp, talon-like fingernails on the arm of the throne, unmindful of the scratches she was leaving there. Talia didn't miss them though, and quickly pointed them out to Susan. Jeanne didn't catch their hurried glances, eventually muttering, "I can only think of one other possibility, though."

"What's that?" Susan asked, her eyes focused on the damage Jeanne's fingernails were doing to the smooth wood of her throne's armrest. Every time the fingernail struck the wood, it cut straight into it as if it was as soft as the jelly that Morkazz was so fond of.

Jeanne's face suddenly clouded over and she stared angrily at Susan. "You must be one of their servants," she said accusingly. "You were on Babylon 5 when the Vorlon Kosh was there, so you must have spoken to him many times. You must have agreed to serve the Vorlon cause, that is why the Vorlon in the swamp recognised you."

"I did no such thing," Susan replied angrily, annoyed that anyone could question her loyalty. She might have agreed with the decision to break away from Earth during Clark's rule, but that didn't mean that she didn't still remain loyal to her homeworld in her heart. "I have always served Earth loyally, and after what the Vorlons did, how can you accuse me of serving them."

"I have already discovered three Vorlon servants among the prisoners," Jeanne replied. "I have cured them, but I knew there would be more."

"Do you mean the telepaths?" Talia suddenly asked, shock plainly visible on her face. "I remember from the Sturt's crew manifests that there were three telepaths on the survey ship. Captain Lawton said that all three were missing. That's who you mean, isn't it?"

"Yes, telepaths, that's what they called themselves," Jeanne replied, still staring suspiciously at Susan. "They tried to trick my guards, so I had to cure them. They will recover in time and the Vorlons will no longer have a hold over them. Now, I must cure you, Captain. Otherwise, I can not trust you to tell the truth. The Vorlons are a deceitful race and their servants must also be just as evil."

Beside her, Morkazz suddenly stepped forward from where he had stood quietly behind the throne, forgotten by all parties. "Shall I summon the healers, Mistress. There are still three of the devices remaining, and I am sure one can be bought here in only a few minutes. This creature should be healed before she does any more harm."

Susan stared at Jeanne in shock, both over her revelations and the fact that there could be a cure that would take away her powers. All her life she had looked on her abilities as a curse, something to be hated, and now there was a chance they could be gone forever. Then she looked over at Talia, and stared the pleading eyes of the woman who meant more to her than anything in the world. What they had discovered over the past few weeks could be lost if she no longer had her telepathic abilities, and Susan knew she couldn't allow that. "No," she said firmly, staring back at Jeanne. "Just because I am a telepath doesn't mean I serve the Vorlons. I fought against them in the Shadow War, for gods sake."

"Do not mention false gods to me," Jeanne replied coldly, her eyes blazing. "I know there was no telepaths on Earth when I was there...." Suddenly she stopped and her face went pale. "Oh no," she said under her breath. She looked back at Susan and all her anger seemed to have evaporated, replaced by a look of shock and regret. "I am sorry, Captain," she said softly. "I had forgotten about the second part of their plan. Please forgive me, I didn't mean to hurt you."

Susan looked surprised at this sudden change of heart. "What are you talking about?"

A tear trickled down one side of Jeanne's face. "I have hurt those telepaths, haven't I? I didn't mean to, I thought I was curing them."

"What did you do," Talia asked gently, trying to comfort Jeanne.

Jeanne brushed away the hair above her forehead, revealing a thin circuit of metal, studded with four large emeralds. "I created copies of this device," she explained. "It prevents anyone from reading my thoughts. On a telepath, it stops their powers completely, leaving a void in their minds. Had I realised that they were innocent victims, I wouldn't have done it. But I thought they worked for the Vorlons. I was worried they would tell their masters I was still alive. I had forgotten all about the second part to the plan."

"What plan?" Susan demanded, managing to avoid shuddering at the though of something that had been with someone for most of their life, suddenly being snatched away. Her own telepathic abilities had only really been with her for a month, but already she couldn't imagine life without them. To never feel the love Talia had for her reflected in her mind would be too high a price to pay.

Jeanne turned to one side, awkwardly wiping away the tear that had stained her cheek, before looking back at Susan. "It is a long story," she replied. "But, perhaps it is one that should now be told." She paused and looked over at Morkazz, who was regarding the whole situation with a confused stare. "Counsellor, I need you to do something for me."

"Anything, Mistress," the Counsellor replied eagerly, looking pleased to have his services called on again.

"Good, go and check on the rest of the Humans. Then, wait there until I call for you."

"At once, Mistress," Morkazz replied hurrying off towards the throne room doors. 

As soon as he was out of earshot, Susan glared suspiciously at Jeanne. "Why did you ask him to leave?" she asked.

"There are some things the beings of this world are not yet ready to hear," Jeanne replied. "They only discovered my presence after the Vorlons had finished burning the surface of this world. I hid my true form from view, and told them that I was there to help them. I could not bring myself to tell them the truth, that it was my fault that their world had been destroyed. Like all lies, it has grown, and now I can't ever tell them the truth. They are a good people, far more trusting and loyal than humanity, but they are not ready to learn what I really am."

"You are going to tell us, though."

"Yes, Captain," Jeanne replied. "I will tell you and then you will see why the Vorlon have imprisoned me here, and why you must release me. I just hope that you understand the pain they have put me through."

There was a loud banging sound from outside the throne room, followed by raised voices, obviously an argument of some kind. "Shouldn't you check on that," Talia asked, looking nervously back at the golden doors. "Someone might get hurt."

"I am sure Morkazz can handle whatever the problem is," Jeanne replied. "Azrak and his soldiers have strict instructions not to harm any of your companions, so no-one should be injured." She paused and considered where to begin her tale. Finally, she turned to Susan and asked, "What do you know about the Vorlons?"

Susan shrugged. "Not a lot. I know that they are very old and that they remained behind, along with the Shadows, to watch over the younger races after the other first ones went away. I know they have organic ships and are very strong telepaths, but that is about it."

"You know much more than most," Jeanne complemented her. "Are you aware of what they look like outside the encounter suits? I mean, what they really look like, not the image they project."

"I have seen only one of them," Susan replied. "When we had to get rid of the second Vorlon ambassador, I saw what he looked like then."

"What did you see?" Jeanne pressed.

Susan struggled for words to describe what she had seen. She hadn't actually been present at the battle with the Vorlon ambassador, but had viewed recordings latter and listened to the stories of those who had been there. "He looked sort like a large glowing squid," she decided finally. "I didn't actually see him up close, only on a recording. What I saw though, resembled a squid, with long tentacles and a large bulbous body."

"That is close enough," Jeanne replied. "The Vorlons were originally an aquatic species, so they still resembled their ancient ancestors in their ethereal form. Their world was once covered by vast oceans with only a few small islands of land, so their technology developed a little different than most other races. Most of the common metals were useless beneath the water, due to corrosion and rust, so they developed organic metals. These metal enabled them to develop advanced technologies, which lead to the building of vast cities and eventually starships."

"Their ships are alive, aren't they. I mean, I know that they are based on organic technology, but their ships are actually living creatures, almost sentient."

Jeanne nodded in confirmation. "Like much of their technology. The Vorlons have very powerful telepathic abilities, so they can influence other living things. Each ship is linked to a single Vorlon from birth and they are like them in strange kind of way. A ship will often take on the personality of its owner, it makes them more compatible, and therefore easier to command. But, none of that is important to my story."

She paused and hesitated over what to say next. Finally, she asked, "you have heard of the dark ones, the Shadows I believe you call them." After Susan nodded, Jeanne continued. "Millions of years ago, when most of the older races vanished from this universe, some to other galaxies, some to other universes, the Vorlons and the Shadows remained to guide the younger races."

"I know this," Susan cut in. "The Vorlons and the Shadows were meant to guide the younger races, but instead, they started warring amongst each other, each seeking to prove that their message was the only one the younger races heard. I was there when they left this galaxy, I heard the truth."

"You have heard some of the truth," Jeanne told her. "Some, but not all. But you are right, that is pretty much what happened. However, there is a lot more to the story than just that. Perhaps ten thousand years ago, the wars between the races allied to the Vorlons and those allied to the Shadows covered much of this galaxy. Each side had hundreds of younger races it had manipulated into the serving it. However, like you have now discovered the truth, these other races also learned of the true reasons for their wars. In the last great galaxy spanning war, nearly ten thousand years ago, these other races drove off the Shadows and the Vorlons, sending them hurtling back across the galaxy to their homeworlds. A great coalition of worlds rose out of the galactic core and formed a mighty empire. I don't know if this empire still exists, but at its height it was able to crush both the Vorlon, the Shadows, and all the races who still remain loyal to them."

"I haven't heard any of this," Susan admitted.

"You were not supposed to," Jeanne said. "Neither of the old races like to admit their failures. They cut off all access to the core worlds, which is why the Vorlon empire stretches over such a large area, yet has few populated worlds. Then they withdrew from most of the galaxy, focusing all their attentions on the small portion of the galaxy around their homeworlds. In the next great war, around nine thousand years ago, the sides were fairly even again, with each race controlling approximately half of the forces. However, after that, things began to go badly for the Vorlons. Many of the races who had supported them died out, and others moved on, leaving for brighter pastures. This left the Shadows at a great advantage and over the next few wars they began to slowly beat the Vorlons, bringing more and more of the younger races under their sway. That was when the Vorlons started to change the rules. They were losing badly, so they had to do something drastic. After a hundred years of consideration and debate, they chose to select from the very young races, those that had not yet made it to the stars, the few who they determined were going to become powerful. The Minbari were the first of these young races to be selected and the Vorlon visited their world perhaps five thousand years ago, sowing the seed of legends." Jeanne paused again and looked sheepishly over at Susan. "I should have remembered the next part of their plan, before I tried to hurt you. My thoughts have been on other matters though, so I did not remember until it was too late."

"You mean the part about the Vorlon's creating telepaths?" Susan asked.

Jeanne nodded. "Yes, that is what happened, to the Minbari and then more recently to a hundred other worlds. You see, most races will eventually become telepathic once they evolve beyond the physical shells of their bodies. The Vorlon originally communicated to each other in song, which could travel over great distances through the waters of their world."

"Like dolphins and whales," Talia suggested.

"I have never seen either of those species," Jeanne replied. "Although I have heard of them and I imagine their ways of communication are similar. Anyway, as the Vorlon evolved to become creatures of energy, they became telepathic and could communicate with each other by the powers of their minds, instead of their vocal songs. Of course, they could still use their normal voices, but outside the ocean it was difficult to hear and they need translators to communicate to the other races. But that is all unimportant to the story." She paused for a second to remember where she had left off, before continuing. "After the Minbari, the Vorlon travelled to other worlds, again planting legends in the minds of that world's priests or shamen, so that they would be looked on kindly on their return. On some worlds their plans succeeded, while on others it failed dismally. The Minbari fell for it totally, becoming the Vorlon's most loyal followers."

"They didn't know any better," Susan interrupted. "They thought the Vorlons were gods."

"Which is what they were meant to think," Jeanne replied with a dark look on her face. "The Vorlons powers are subtle, but very powerful. They knew that once these suggestions had been planted on the worlds of the younger races, they would be much easier to manipulate. I know you were on Babylon 5 when Kosh revealed himself, what did you see?"

"You already know the answer to that question," Susan replied, feeling a little annoyed at herself. She remembered the way she had felt when she had seen the angelic figure rising up over the gardens, and there was no way she was going to give anyone the pleasure of knowing how angry she felt when she had learnt it was Kosh.

"Yes I do, Captain."

"Well I don't," Talia cut in. "In case you don't remember, Susan, I wasn't there."

Jeanne turned and look at Talia. "She saw what I also saw, eight hundred and fifty years ago. The Vorlons can reach inside your mind and twist your senses until you see only what they want you to see. Everyone on Babylon 5 that day, saw an angelic being rising up from the garden, each in the image of his or her own species. Of course, there was no record of this on the cameras, was there?"

Susan shook her head. "No, there was a problem with the recorders at almost exactly the same time as Kosh appeared."

Jeanne nodded. "I thought so, the Vorlon knew that if it had been recorded by a camera the image it was projecting would not have been picked up, and it would have been seen for what it really was. Vorlons can also effect electrical devices, just like most powerful telepaths, so it would have disabled them. I image it was quite a strain on its powers, but Kosh always was one of the strongest of the Vorlons."

"You seem to know a lot about this," Susan noted.

"Yes, I do," Jeanne agreed. "There is a reason for that, but I do not want to get ahead of myself. As I mentioned before, the Vorlons had manipulated the younger races into following them, attempting to ensure their victory over their enemies. However, it would be many years before these younger races reached for the stars, so they were fated to continue losing until that occurred. The Minbari were the first and they surpassed everything the Vorlons could have imagined. They were proud, strong and loyal, just what the Vorlons were looking for, and when the next war came along, they had new allies to fight off their enemies. Things did not go their way though, and they were not winning. They weren't losing either, but they wanted to win. Then something occurred that changed everything."

"Babylon 4," Susan muttered.

Jeanne's eyes opened in shock. "You know of what happened to Babylon 4?" she asked in amazement. "How is that possible."

"I helped steal it," Susan admitted, ignoring the strange look Talia was giving her.

"That was very stupid of you," Jeanne told her, an angry look on her face. "You helped the Vorlons and the Minbari drive off the Shadows in the last war. That altered history, changed the way things were supposed to be. You are partially responsible for what happened to me."

"I don't see how," Susan argued. "I thought that without Babylon 4, the Shadows would have come out of the last war with more vessels. Did you want them to win?"

"No," Jeanne admitted. "I didn't want to see them win, but then I didn't want the Vorlons to win either. That victory encouraged their efforts, it lead them to alter more and more races. A thousand year ago, after the Shadows had been defeated and driven into hiding, they searched across the worlds of the younger races, seeking to discover those worlds which would be the most powerful during the next war, the one you have just lived through. Their success with Valen made them realise that they needed another leader to take command during the next war and for that task, they chose me."

"You!" Susan said disbelievingly. "You mean that eight hundred years ago, the Vorlons had selected you as their new great leader?"

"That is correct, although it was eight hundred and fifty" Jeanne replied. "One of the first things they did was give me immortality, although they could have just as easily frozen me for a few centuries. The Vorlons wanted to make me better than Valen though, harder to kill, and a leader who could survive forever, ensuring their victory for all future generations."

"Why you," Talia asked.

Jeanne shrugged. "I do not know why they originally chose me, but I know why they chose the human race. They knew that during the next war, it would come down to one or two species. Following the last war, several races had sided with the Shadows permanently, travelling to live on their homeworld. The Vorlons were more cautious than the Shadows, and didn't want the younger races seeing their worlds. They preferred to remain cold and aloof, I believe they thought it made them more mysterious. Anyway, the Vorlons determined that the next war would come down to which side Humanity would ally with."

"You're kidding," Susan laughed. "Earth barely even made it into space in time for this war. If it wasn't for the Centauri, we would still be stuck back on our homeworld, ignorant of the war that was occurring above us."

"Assuming that the Centauri weren't encouraged to visit Earth by the Vorlons, I agree. I think the Vorlons thought that Humanity would reach space much earlier than it did. They saw Earth as a young and vibrant world, ripe for the picking. All they had to do was ensure that Humanity followed them when the time was right. The key to ensure this, was me. They wanted to make me their champion, their messenger to the people of Earth. Had they succeeded, no-one on Earth would have doubted the righteousness of the Vorlon cause and the Shadows would have been defeated again, only this time for good."

"How, though?" Susan asked. "Forgive me for saying this, but you don't really inspire me to follow the you into the depths of hell, or anything like that."

Jeanne smiled faintly. "As I said before, I am sick and tired. Had I the energy I need to do more than just keep myself alive, you might think differently, but you are right, that was not all there was to their plan. When they took me from Earth, they did it in such a way as to ensure that I would be remembered by those who knew me. A few carefully worded revelations to a loyal priest or two over the years, and I would have become a legend. Then, all the Vorlons had to do was show up with me in tow and present me to a believing world as their chosen leader. No-one would have questioned it, even those who didn't believe in Angels and God. Everyone would have fallen behind me, and the Vorlon victory would have been assured."

"What happened then?" Susan asked.

"They were overconfident, and I was just a little too loyal," Jeanne said softly. She reached up and touched the metallic circuit again. "They gave me this, so they could speak to me easier. But, it turned out to be their worst mistake. Back then, I was so loyal to the Vorlons that it sickens me to even think about it now. I didn't question anything they said. After all, they were the messengers of God. I wanted to help them, to fight the demons they told me about. By the time they gave me this device, they had taught me many things. I knew things that the greatest scientists on Earth today don't even know. I wanted to show them how much I had learned, so I took the device and I... altered it. Their constant thoughts running around in my head was hurting me, so I decided that if I could alter the device to shut the thoughts out, the pain would go away. I thought they would be proud of me, but instead they were angry. Worse than that, the device now shut out all of their telepathic powers. When they came to punish me, I saw them as they really were." 

Jeanne paused to wipe away the tears that were beginning to fall from her face. She smiled wanly at Susan and Talia. "You must understand, that I was only a young, poorly educated, peasant girl. All my life, I had been taught to follow the word of god, and the sudden discovery that my angels were nothing more than alien creatures trying to manipulate me came as something as a shock. I am afraid I became rather angry and killed most of the Vorlons who were on the ship. The rest fled in a transport, leaving me alone on the research vessel. Eventually they spoke to me again. I demanded to be returned to my world, but instead they tricked me, imprisoning me here. Which brings us to the end of the story, or the beginning, depending on which way you look at it."

"There is one thing I don't understand," Susan said. "Why didn't they just kill you? Why leave you here? I can understand them being afraid of what you could tell others, but why not just kill you?"

"It is never that simple with the Vorlons. They made me too powerful for a start. Not content with just making me immortal, the Vorlon involved decided to make me into a powerful warrior as well, ensuring that I couldn't be killed easily. It would do no good to place me on Earth, only to have someone kill me off the next day. I had to be able to survive. They made me a lot like them, without regard for the pain it cost me. The awful, awful pain. I don't eat any more, instead I absorb energy and heat through the pores of my skin. Most of my internal organs were no longer necessary, so they removed or replaced them. My blood was altered to become regenerative, so even if I was injured I could heal quickly. In fact, the only things that can hurt me are cold and darkness."

"They could have dropped you somewhere in space, or stuck you in hyperspace."

Jeanne nodded. "They could have, but there was another reason why they didn't want me dead. Apart from the fact that they hoped I would eventually return to their side, they also sought to regain that which I taken from them." Seeing the confused stares on the faces of her guests, Jeanne added. "You don't know what happens when a Vorlon dies, do you?"

Susan shook her head. "Not really. I do know that when Kosh died, part of him was left behind."

"Yes, his memories, his knowledge and everything that made him what he was. You see, when a Vorlon dies, it is only the shell that is destroyed. The Vorlon still remains behind for a while as a memory, an image of what it had been. If another of its kind is nearby, then it can hold the Vorlon for a while, long enough to return to the homeworld. There they have this... pool I guess is the best way to describe it. The remaining part of the dead Vorlon is added to this pool, where it joins all the other dead. The other Vorlons come and meditate in the tower where this pool is located and they can speak to those who have gone before, learning their wisdom and seeking answers to their questions. This is why they didn't want to kill me."

"Because of the pool," Susan said quizzically, confused by the idea.

"Because I prevented those I killed from returning to their homeworld," Jeanne explained. "The Vorlons I killed didn't leave even the faintest memory behind. They made me too powerful, when I killed them I also drained away their life energy, their knowledge and everything they were. Mercifully, I was spared their memories, but I have within me the combined knowledge of seven Vorlons."

"Oh God," Talia exclaimed, shivering slightly. "No wonder they were afraid of you."

Jeanne nodded sadly. "I didn't know what I was doing back then, I just wanted to kill them for misleading me. Afterwards, I discovered that I knew much more than I should, all about Vorlon history, how to write and understand the Vorlon language, and how much of their technology works. I think that the Vorlons believed that they could retrieve the memories of those I had killed, which is why they left me alive. They wanted to make me weak, so that they could retrieve their lost companions. I refused to die though, and with the assistance of the beings of this world, made myself strong enough to survive. Now you are here, and I can finally be free of this hell I have been condemned to."

"Can we trust you though?" Susan asked her. "How do we know you won't try to conquer Earth or something like that?"

Jeanne frowned. "I have just told you everything, Captain, my entire life. I have never told anyone that before, not even my closest advisers and you still doubt me."

"I just want to be sure. I believe what you say, so much matches what I know that it can't be wrong, but I need to believe that you won't try to finish off what you started."

Jeanne nodded in understanding. "Once long ago, I would have done what I said earlier. Eight hundred years ago, I wanted more than anything to conquer Earth, but that was only so I could destroy the Vorlons. But they are gone now, aren't they? They have gone beyond the galactic rim into whatever lies beyond and so there is nothing I can do against them now. Certainly, I could destroy their worlds, but that would be a hollow, wasteful victory. The war has been won and I wasn't a part of it. In a strange kind of way, I am glad it turned out this way. It is better that the Vorlon's own nature is what destroyed their plans in the end, not my knowledge."

"What do you want now then?" Talia asked, cutting in before Susan could ask the same question. "What are your plans if you are freed."

A faint flicker of a smile crossed Jeanne's lips. "I want to see a beach." Seeing the shocked look on her guest's faces, she chuckled. "Is that so hard to imagine. All my life I have wanted to go to the beach. To sit on pure white sands and feel the burning sun beat down on my face. I want to sip exotic tropical fruit juices and swim in pure blue waters. Just for once, I want nothing to worry about, no Vorlons, nothing. I just want to lie back and let the troubles of the universe pass me by, I want nothing to do with them any more. You have to believe, that after everything I have been through and everything I have seen, there is nothing on Earth or any of the other younger races' homeworlds that interests me. I just want to get off this dank pit and go out and see the universe. Perhaps, somewhere out there, I will find what I am searching for."

“I want to believe you," Susan said softly. "But, if there is one thing I have learned over the past few years, it is that no-one is ever exactly what they seem. Everyone has an agenda, and while you might say that you don't wish to harm anyone, how can I believe that? How do I know that you are not lying to me right now, and when you are free of this world, you won't try to continue what you have begun. What if I were to free you and then you started conquering worlds. How can I be sure that what you are saying is the truth."

"You don't believe me?" Jeanne asked incredulously. "After all I have told you, you still don't believe me?"

"I want to," Susan repeated. "I can imagine what it must have been like, trapped here for all that time, but I need some proof that you are not a threat. I swore and oath to protect the Earth Alliance from all threats, and from where I am sitting, you are a potential threat. I know you must have suffered, but I can't judge you on what might have happened in the past, only on your current actions, and they haven't really been worthy of trust so far. If I put aside everything that the Vorlons have said about you, and everything that the you have said about them, then I am still left with the fact that you have taken a large number of civilians, as well as one of my senior officers, hostage. To me, your actions only seem to back up the Vorlon warnings."

"You are a suspicious woman, Captain Ivanova," Jeanne said ruefully. "Is there no way that I can convince you that story is true, and that my intentions are pure?"

"There is one way," Susan answered, shuddering at the mere though of what she was about to suggest. "And I suspect both of us know what it is, and both of us hate the idea of it. Let me look into your mind, let me see the truth of what you saying for myself. That is the only way I can know if you are being truthful or not."

"I am afraid that it impossible," Jeanne said firmly, unconsciously reaching up and touching the metallic circuit that rested on her brow.

Not if you want me to experience your truth," Susan replied. "But if you won't, then how can I trust you?"

Jeanne frowned. "I meant that it is impossible because I can not remove this device, at least not without considerable pain and injury. I have worn it for so long that the skin around it has bonded with the organic metal. If I removed it, I would need to cut away half of my scalp as well, I am sure you don't want me to do that."

"I don't want to hurt you," Susan agreed. "And I do want to believe you. But, I can't risk it. I won't be responsible for loosing a Vorlon killing machine on a defenceless universe."

"When I was last on the Earth, many people were just as suspicious and disbeliving as you are," Jeanne said angrily. "Like them, you don't understand. I can't kill anyone, the mere thought of ending another person's life is completely against my nature. When I killed the Vorlons I thought I was killing demons, unholy creatures of evil who were attempting to twist my mind and make me betray my god. I didn't realise until later what they really were, or what I had done."

"How do we know that, though?" Talia asked. "I have to agree with Susan here. The Vorlon created you to fight for them, but also to rule Earth. Based on what we have seen here, you have obviously grown used to the idea of ruling, the beings on this world treat you as some kind of goddess. If you are freed, won't you just try and expand your empire across other worlds? We only really have your word that you won't attempt anything like that."

Jeanne stared at Talia, a shocked expression on her face. "You think that I like ruling this world?" She exclaimed. "I never wanted to rule anything, I just wanted to help people, to heal the injured and the sick. When I was abandoned on this world, the Vorlons weren't just content with creating that cloud to trap me here, they turned their fleet's weapons on the planet's surface as well, burning the jungles and killing many of the native life forms. After they left, the surviving natives crawled out of the jungle, and into the same caves where I had escaped to. I do not know how many there were before the Vorlons came, but after the attack, barely even a thousand survived. I helped them to live, gave them technology to heal their injuries, to feed themselves, and finally to adjust to the world's new environment. In return, they helped me recover from my own wounds and eventually they built this palace for me. I am not their goddess, but merely their guardian and guide."

"That's not the way it seems to me," Susan argued. "I spoke to General Azrak on the way here, the way he talk about you is that same why other races talk about their gods. Then there is the rules you have imposed on your Arisians. Your 'followers' aren't permitted to gain personal wealth, and they must speak English. What about their own culture, what is left of that?"

"It is not like that," Jeanne replied softly.

"What is it like, then? I know what I saw."

"Do you?" Jeanne asked. "Do you really understand what you saw? Did you look at the artisans and workers at the great plaza. Did they look unhappy to you? What I did on this world was necessary, not just for me, but for the people of this planet as well. They were a dying race, and if I hadn't intervened, they would no longer exist. Now, there are nearly two million living within this city, and a few thousand more live in the outlying settlements. I did not force them to stay here either, they may leave if they will. My domain only stretches as far as the outermost construction site, beyond that is empty land. They live here though, not because I forced them, but because they wish to remain. Ask them yourself, if you don't believe me. Anyone one of the citizens of this city will tell you the same thing."

"I already have," Susan said, remembering the conversations she had with Azrak after they had finished crossing the bridge over the canyon. "I asked General Azrak what you were like, because I thought that you could be Human. He told me you weren't though and that you were a 'shadowy figure' of some kind. Now I find out that isn't true, and my first impression was true after all, which frankly makes me rather suspicious. If you have been lying to the people of this world for so many years, then how do I know you are not lying to me now?"

"I am not lying to you," Jeanne replied firmly. "There are good reason why I didn't show them my true form all those years ago. Back then, they were still a young and violent race and they valued strength above all other things. If I had appeared before them, injured and close to death then they would have killed me. I had to hide, make myself appear stronger than I actually was. I had no choice, I wanted to live. You can not blame me for that, anyone would have done the same thing in my position. Now, however, they are more mature. Through my guidance they have learned to channel their efforts into more productive avenues. I have even begun to think that they are ready to rule themselves without my guidance, I have even chosen three of my closest advisors to replace me when I... leave."

"It sounds like you knew we were coming," Susan noted suspiciously.

Jeanne turned at smiled wanly at her. "Not really, Captain. It came as something of a surprise to suddenly have visitors. I guess I should have expected it once the Vorlons left. There are always those who seek to gain wealth and knowledge that they have not earned. However, I didn't choose my replacements because I thought I was going to be rescued, I chose them because I knew I was going to die. It may be still another twenty or thirty years before I die completely, but long before then I will fall into a deep sleep, from which I will never arise. Already I have been experiencing the beginnings of my death, an unnatural tiredness has been creeping across me and several times I have collapsed, unable to remain conscious."

"And if we destroy this machine, or whatever it is, then you will recover?"

"That is correct," Jeanne nodded. "I need sunlight now to survive, without it I will die. So if you don't help me now, then you won't just be leaving me imprisoned here, you will be leaving me to die."

"But, if we release you, we could be causing the deaths of untold thousands of people," Susan said, before quickly adding, "If you turn out to be as dangerous as the Vorlon insist."

"Captain, do you think they would have selected me as their champion in the first place if I was dangerous?" Jeanne asked, sounding annoyed at the very idea. "They chose me because I would best serve their cause, which was one of order. They didn't select me because I went around killing people for no reason. Besides, what could I do now, anyway? Despite the Vorlon's assertions, I am not a powerful being. I can survive in situations that would otherwise kill a normal Human, but I am no stronger than anyone else. I can, however, destroy energy based life forms with considerable ease, but how many energy based life forms exist in this galaxy now that the Vorlons and the First Ones are gone?"

"None that I am aware of," Susan admitted finally, after searching her brain to try and come up with one other race who had been similar to the Vorlon. The only being she could come up with was Jason Ironheart, but she didn't think that a single creature composed a race.

"And do you think I could just return to Earth and take over?" Jeanne continued. "If the Vorlons had completed their education of the population, then it would have been possible, but they didn't proceed after I rebelled against them. Instead they moved on to their second plan and started creating telepaths on various alien worlds. All I have now, is one ship, one single solitary warship, which I am sure would not last long against the fleets of even the weakest of the alien worlds. I am not a threat any more, once perhaps, but not any more. Even if I wanted to try and conquer the galaxy or something stupid like that, I could not succeed. Surely you should realised by now, after everything that you have been through and everything that you have seen, that I can not possibly pose a threat to even the most minor power in this galaxy."

"You seemed to done quite well on this world," Susan noted, although she was beginning to feel less and less convinced by her own arguments.

Jeanne looked displeased. "I know how things appear, Captain. But they are not always the way they appear to be. It is much more difficult to convince a civilised being, than it is a barbarian. Eight hundred years ago the people of this world were barbarians, a loose coalition of tribes that warred amongst themselves most of the time. It was not difficult to convince them to change their ways and follow mine, but I do not think it would be as easy to do the same on Earth."

"I'm not so sure about that," Susan replied, remembering the way former President Clark had managed to twist everyone's opinions and make them support him. Well, not everyone of course, there were still those like John Sheridan who had stood up against the lies. Clark had a whole support mechanism behind him though, and if Jeanne attempted the same she would be alone. "All right," Susan said. "I am willing to concede the point that there isn't a lot you can do, even if you are bent on destruction. But that still brings us back to the scientists that you have captured and imprisoned. I want them released before I am willing to do anything to help you."

"What is to stop you just taking them and leaving me here?" Jeanne asked.

"Nothing," Susan admitted. ' Except my  conscience,' she thought, sneaking a glance at Talia. "You will just have to trust me."

"That is difficult, Captain," Jeanne said softly. "I have been betrayed so many times in my life, that trust is not something that is easy for me to feel."

"If you want me to trust you, then you have to trust me. Release the prisoners and I will help you. If you won't do that, then I know I can't trust you. Unless you are afraid that they will tell me something about you that you would prefer to keep hidden?"

"I have not harmed any of my guests," Jeanne replied angrily. "I have treated them well and given them food and water and everything else they needed to be happy." She paused, and Susan could see that she was torn about what to say next. Finally, Jeanne decided on a course of action. "Very well, Captain," she said softly. "I will agree to release all of my guests. I will even let them keep the gems they have stolen from me if it will make you feel better."

"Gems?" Talia asked, glancing up at the glittering ceiling.

"This world is poor in metals, but rich in precious stones," Jeanne explained. "I kept your friends in the mines, because that was the only place I had to keep prisoners. There is little crime on this world and punishment is usually little more than a reduction in rank and status, so I have no gaols. I gave them some mining equipment, so they would have something to keep them busy."

"So you didn't try and use them as slave labour then?" Susan asked, still suspicious of Jeanne's motives.

Jeanne looked shocked at the very idea. "I do not have slaves, Captain," she replied hotly. "They were not asked to work on the mines, they only decided to do so when they realised what they were mining. As I said, I did not harm them."

"All right, I believe you," Susan replied. "I want to see them and speak to them before I agree to anything though."

"If you agree to do as I ask, then I will bring them to you," Jeanne counter-offered. "You can still change your mind again latter. It is just that I can not wait, I am too tired to sit around here while your friends are retrieved."

"How far away are these mines?" Susan asked. "We can go to them, if you don't want to bring them to us."

"I am afraid that is not really possible," Jeanne replied, picking nervously at one of the gems on her gown. "Your friends are no longer in the mines, they escaped a short time ago."

"What!" Susan almost shouted. "You have kept us here all this time, attempting to use them as hostages, when they weren't even your prisoners."

"I could have prevented their escape at any time," Jeanne replied. "I knew though, that if my discussion with you went well, then they would be released anyway. I thought it would give them a better sense of accomplishment if they escaped on their own. Of course, if our discussions don't end successfully, then I can send Azrak to recapture them. I would prefer not to though."

"You have still lied to me again," Susan replied. "Again, I might add. How can I trust anything you say, if you weren't even telling the truth about the prisoners."

"They are still my prisoners," Jeanne argued. "I permitted them to leave the mines, but until they leave the patrolled lands, they are still my prisoners. It makes no difference if they are in the mines or walking along on of the roads, they still remain under my control."

"That's not the point."

"And what is the point?" Jeanne asked angrily. "I have tried to be truthful with you, Captain Ivanova, but you are just being obstinate. I could have told you any story, many a lot more believable than the truth. Instead, I chose to tell you the truth, to throw myself on your mercy in the hope that you would help me out. You didn't believe me though, you have tried every kind of argument that you can to disprove my tale and paint me as some kind of murderous monster that is out to conquer entire worlds. What you fail to realise is that after eight hundred years, I am sick of ruling this world, let alone trying to conquer another. I just want to leave, to go out into the stars and see some of the galaxy before I die."

"But is that the truth?" Susan asked. "After this last revelation, I don't know if I can believe you or not."

Jeanne slumped back into her throne, looking tired and worn out. She reached into a pocket and pulled out a single data crystal. Slowly rolling it between her finders she watched the light sparkle through the crystal. "This crystal contains all the information about the Vorlon weather control machine," she said softly, handing it across to Susan. "Take it and go. I will have Azrak guide you to your companions, and you can leave with them. I will leave it up to you what you do next. I have told you the truth, it is up to you to decide if you believe me or not. I have freed your friends, now you must decide if you are going to free me, or leave me here to die."

"I..."

"Go, Captain," Jeanne said, waving a weak hand in the direction of the door. "There is nothing more I have to say. Go and work it out for yourself, I just don't have the strength to argue with you any more. If you want to let me die, then that is your choice, I don't care any more."

Susan looked ready to say something, but Talia placed a hand on her arm.  <Come on, Susan,> she said telepathically.  <Let's go.>

With a cautious nod, Susan signalled her agreement and both woman left the throne room, although Susan stopped once to look back at Jeanne, who was still slumped in her throne, a figure of total dejection. Tears flowed unchecked down her pale cheeks, and Susan felt terrible about what she had said. She glanced down at the data crystal and then slipped it into her pocket, before following Talia out of through the golden doors and out into the hallway beyond.

 

* * *

 

Susan stared back at the throne room doors, a slightly irritated expression on her face. She didn’t regret what she said to Jeanne, but she wished that she could know if the dark-haired woman was telling the truth or not. Unlike other people she had met, Jeanne seemed to have an irritatingly annoying ability of hiding her emotions and, without using her telepathic powers, Susan had found it impossible to determine if anything Jeanne had said was true. She ended up torn between belief and scepticism.

There was so much that Jeanne had told her that matched facts she already knew, and other things seemed true. But, Susan still found herself sceptical. There was something about Jeanne that was bothering her. Susan fingered the data crystal in her pocket, wondering what information it would contain, and if that information would be enough to convince her to free Jeanne.

Right now though, she had other concerns. After leaving the throne room, she had soon found out the reason for the noises they had heard inside. Sergeant Drake had apparently wanted to check and see that she was still all right, something that the Arisian general had resisted very strongly indeed. A scuffle had resulted, leaving Drake with a black eye and two other marines with minor injuries. True to Jeanne’s word though, no-one had been seriously hurt. It had left an air of mistrust between the two parties, which wasn’t helped by Jack Melis’ constant attempts to probe the Arisians for information about their technology and culture.

"How much longer do we have to wait here?" Susan finally asked, looking over at General Azrak for an answer.

The General shrugged. "Morkazz must return with orders from the Mistress. I find these orders of hers strange and must be sure of her wishes before I will comply."

Susan sighed and leaned back against the wall, watching Melis trying to get one of the guards to tell him how the organic metal this entire city appeared to be made of was grown. The guard was ignoring him, concentrating instead on glaring at Drake, who was glaring back just as hard. It was therefore a great relief when the robed counsellor returned from the throne room and started to whisper urgently to the General. Azrak looked displeased with whatever was being said, but finally nodded.

"Come with me," he said to Susan. "The Mistress has ordered that you be returned to the construction site. She has also ordered that the items take from the machine, I think you call it a rover, be returned."

"What about Major Logan and the rest of the prisoners?"

Azrak looked annoyed. "They have apparently escaped from the mine and we are to find them along the way. The Mistress has said that they were last seen moving climbing the stairs that lead to the new road. We will find them there and you can take them with you if you wish. I do not understand the Mistress’ reasoning, but she has decreed that you may all leave, so I will obey. Her reasoning is often strange, but she has not failed us yet. Come now, we must leave."

Susan nodded, and gestured to the rest of her team to follow the General. Melis looked forlornly at the throne room door, before allowing himself to be dragged away. Azrak led them along a new corridor, which soon opened up into a vast hallway lined with statues of Arisian warriors. "This is the hall of warriors," Azrak explained. "Only the greatest leaders are permitted to reside here."

Susan examined one of the statues, noticing how lifelike it was. "You must have great sculptors," she commented.

Azrak turned and stared at her, a strange look on his face. "Sculptors?" he asked, sounding as if he had never heard the word before.

"Stone carvers, the artisans who created these statues."

"They are not called sculptors," Azrak corrected. "The Mistress said they are called embalmers. They do not carve anything from stone either, they dip the warriors in a special liquid so they remain this way for eternity."

Talia, who had been about to touch one of the statues, pulled back suddenly. "That certainly is interesting way of taking care of the dead," she said, looking faintly sick. "Are all of your deceased honoured this way?"

Azrak shook his head. "No, only the greatest warriors. The rest go north."

"Go north?" Susan inquired.

"Yes," the General replied, waving a hand in the direction of north. "When a warrior grows old and realises that he will soon die, he sets out on an quest to cross the great ice field and destroy the evil machine that chokes our world."

"You have to be kidding," Susan exclaimed. "You mean that Jeanne, I mean your Mistress, makes you throw away your lives like this?"

Azrak looked confused. "Throw away our lives?" he asked, sounding confused. "I do not understand. It is a great honour for a warrior to make the trek. It is the last chance he has to give to the Mistress, in thanks for all that she has done for us."

"But it’s a waste," Susan tried to argue. "Wouldn’t these warriors live for several more years if they didn’t do this?"

"Perhaps," Azrak shrugged. "But when a warrior’s limbs grow stiff and his joint’s sore, it is no longer worth living. We are not like you, Captain Ivanova. We do not live until we rot away, we prefer to end our lives this way. It is far more noble."

Susan shook her head in astonishment. It was obvious that whatever she said, wasn’t going to change the minds of Azrak or any of his warriors, so she decided to change the topic and try and get her mind away from the idea of the thousands of Arisians who must have died this way. "What do you know about this machine?" she asked. "The one that creates the storm."

"The Mistress told us that it lies at the north pole of this world. It is a vast device that draws on the heat of the world for its power, so it can never be exhausted. The Mistress also said that there was a second device that surrounds it, generating the ice field. This is so no-one can travel north. It is so cold that any living creature dies a few kilometres after entering the ice."

"What have you tried, in all your attempts to destroy it?"

"The Mistress has tried everything that she knows of to destroy it, but has always failed. She said that they knew her limits and protected the device just enough so that she could not reach it. She said that they did it to tease her, leaving it always out of reach."

"And she wants us to destroy it."

"You can destroy it?" Azrak asked excitedly.

"She seems to think so," Susan replied. "I am not so sure though."

"You must try," Azrak urged. "For the sake of the Mistress. She will die if you do not remove that cloud. We do not want to see her die, she has done so much for us and never asked anything in return."

Susan nodded. "I will do what I can," she said, although her mind was still undecided on exactly what type of action to take. It was obvious that the Arisian cared deeply for Jeanne, although how much of that was conditioning and how much was genuine was difficult to determine. The thought of thousands of Arisian warriors going to their deaths, just to try and destroy this machine, sickened her, and she wondered if it wouldn’t be best to destroy it, just to save their lives.

"Come," Azrak said, interrupting her. "We must go this way." The General pointed towards a broad stone staircase that travelled upwards at the end of the hall. "This is the quickest way to find your friends."

 

* * *

 

Jeanne stared at the screen in front of her, a speculative expression on her face. On the monitor, General Azrak was leading Susan and her companions along the main underground thoroughfare, towards the cave mouth that served as the city gates. Soon they would pass beyond the range of her cameras and she would no longer be able to observe them. This did not overly concern her at the moment, but Jeanne was still a little worried about what Ivanova planned to do.

The meeting with Ivanova had not gone at all like she had predicted. She had spent several hours planning for the meeting with the rescue ship’s commander, but when it turned out to be Ivanova, she had been forced to throw away everything she had come up with. Despite this sudden change of plans, Jeanne still believed that she could convince Ivanova to free her. However, the woman had been far more argumentative and mistrusting than she would have thought possible. Jeanne hoped that she had placed just enough doubt in the Captain’s mind to convince Ivanova to do as she desired, but, just in case, she had come to the conclusion that further steps needed to be taken to ensure Ivanova followed her wishes. Looking across to where her counsellor, Morkazz was standing, Jeanne said softly. "I have new orders, Morkazz. These are very important."

"Of course, Mistress," the counsellor replied, standing up and hurrying over to her side. "How may I assist you?"

"I need you to arrange a messenger to go to General Azrak and pass on to him my instructions. It must be a messenger, I do not want to trust the communicators, in case the Humans intercept my message. The messenger must not reach the General until after the Humans have departed though. Can you arrange that?"

Morkazz nodded. "That can be done, Mistress."

"Good, then these are my new orders. Inform Azrak that once he has allowed Ivanova and her companions to depart he is to gather his soldiers and head into the swamps where the Human vessel has landed. There he is to surround the ship and await my command to capture it."

The counsellor looked confused. "Didn’t you tell Captain Ivanova that all of her companions could go free?"

"I did," Jeanne confirmed. "However, I cannot be sure that she will do as I have asked and destroy the Vorlon’s weather control machine. If she fails to do so, then I wish to have other options. I have no intention of being left here to rot. That ship is still usable, and I intend to ensure that it does not depart unless I permit it."

"I thought it had crashed," Morkazz said, looking confused.

"You do not remember?" Jeanne asked. Seeing the blank expression on her counsellor’s face, she explained. "When I sent the scout to stop it from escaping, all he did was to drain away the energy from the ship’s power cells. He did not damage the vessel, and I made sure that he knew to take only enough energy to disable the vessel, not to ensure that it was destroyed. It is still intact, and if we have it under our control, then it should be possible to restore its power and use it as a weapon against the Vorlon machine."

"A weapon?"

Jeanne nodded. "Yes, if everything is timed perfectly, then it should be possible to send the ship into orbit and then bring it back down again. Only this time it won’t land safely, it will strike the ground at a considerable speed and that should be enough to set off an explosion in the Vorlon’s weather machine. The explosion will destroy the machine and the cloud will fade away."

"That is a good plan, Mistress," Morkazz said excitedly. "But won’t the Humans be angry if you take their ship. They may send warriors to try and stop you."

"I am sure General Azrak, with the new armour I have given him, will be able to stop any attack. Besides, this is only a backup plan, something to attempt if Captain Ivanova doesn’t do as I requested."

"I believe I understand, Mistress," Morkazz said.

"Good, now I have some further orders to give to Azrak, do you have something to write them down on?"

Morkazz reached into one of his robe’s pockets and withdrew a small pad of yellowish paper and a quill pen. Then he dropped a hand into another pocket and located his vial of ink. Unscrewing the lid of the ink jar he dipped his quill in and then looked over at Jeanne. "I am ready, Mistress."

Jeanne nodded. "Make a note of this. Azrak is to only approach the ship after Captain Ivanova has left and is on her way back to her own vessel. I do not believe that they can communicate very far due to the storm cloud's interference, so once Ivanova has left, then the Humans remaining behind in the swamp will be vulnerable. Order Azrak to wait for half a cycle, then surround the vessel. That should ensure that no-one can leave without my permission. I do not care if he is seen, that isn’t important right now."

Morkazz halted his writing for a second and looked up at Jeanne. "Mistress," he said. "Is Captain Ivanova going to destroy the Vorlon machine straight away, or will she wait until after she has retrieved all of her companions?"

Jeanne frowned. "That is a good question. I do not know if she has any intention of helping me at all, let alone when she intends of destroying the storm generator. It is troubling not to know, but she would not believe me, and I had little choice but to ask her to leave in the hope that my performance would finally convince her."

"Shall I order Azrak to wait and observe what happens before capturing the ship?"

"No. I will not let them all escape, that would leave me with nothing. Besides, they may try and damage their ship before they leave, so I can’t attempt to use it. Azrak is to capture the vessel as soon as Ivanova is on her way off this world. That is the only way to be sure. "

"If she finds out what you have done, then she could be angry," Morkazz noted. "She could be planning to help you. Then, when she finds out that the rest of her companions are still trapped in the swamp, she may change her mind."

"That is true. But, if that occurs, then I will have to use threats instead. She may not want to assist me, but her superiors may have different ideas. Do you remember what I told you about ranks?"

"Yes, the lower ranks must always follow the orders of the higher ranks."

"That is correct, if need be, then I will hold the rest of that ship’s crew here until the highest ranked soldier on Earth comes and agrees to my demands."

"Won’t they be angry?"

Jeanne smiled. "Perhaps, but they cannot harm us here within the city. The walls are made of the same material as the towers and my ship. They will absorb any energy from their weapons and take only minor damage. In fact, if they attack me with their weapons, it may provide enough power to launch the first of the satellites. Then, I can destroy the storm generator for myself."

"Why did Captain Ivanova not believe you?"Morkazz suddenly asked.

Jeanne stared at her counsellor for a second, her gaze narrowing. "I do not know," she said finally. "Captain Ivanova is ruled by different passions that most Humans. Most are greedy, seeking only to better their own lives. She is different and cares more about her duty to her people than she does about herself. I knew she would be difficult to convince, Humans like her always are. Still, I think I may have convinced her in the end, and I hope that she will fulfil my request and destroy that accursed storm generator. If the Vorlons hadn’t created that ice field around it, I would have destroyed it centuries ago myself."

"I am sure that she will do that is right," Morkazz said. "On the ISN, she always seems to do what is right."

"There is right and then there is right, Morkazz. Sometime one person’s idea of right and wrong does not match another’s. Captain Ivanova has different ideals than I do, she does not understand the good that I am trying to do. She thinks that I am trying to conquer worlds. She thinks that I control you and the rest of your people and that you have no free will."

"You have only helped us, Mistress," Morkazz cut in, sounding angry. "Captain Ivanova should not say such things about you. They are not true, you have guided us, made us strong and wise. We would not have survived without you."

Jeanne smiled wanly. "I am pleased that you think so, Morkazz. I do try to help, but some do not understand that my work here is only for the good of this world. Before I leave, this world will become beautiful paradise, unlike Captain Ivanova’s world. She sees things only through her eyes, and her experiences shape what she sees. If she had been born here on Arias, she would not have questioned my motives."

"She should learn to understand," Morkazz replied. "Then she would not question you."

Jeanne’s lips curled up in a faint smile. "That is true, Morkazz. But, she will understand soon enough, they all will. For now though, let us return to my orders. What have you written down so far?"

Morkazz glanced down at the notepad in his hands. "You want Azrak to proceed into the swamp and surround the Human vessel, but not before Captain Ivanova has left the swamp. Then he is to capture the vessel and bring the rest of the Humans back here."

"Not back here," Jeanne corrected. "He is to hold them there until Captain Ivanova destroys the storm generator. If she doesn’t comply with my wishes, then he is to return the rest of the ship’s crew to the city, but not before. I will need to question them if I am to learn how their ship operates. Now, do you have that?"

"Yes, Mistress," the counsellor replied. "Shall I call for the messenger now?"

Jeanne nodded. "Yes, but remember he is not to reach Azrak until after Captain Ivanova and her companions have departed in their machine."

"I understand."

"Good, now go. On your way out, try to locate Harj and send her to me. I will need her assistance to remove this... this stuff." Jeanne indicated her hair and the tiny flecks of glittering gemstone that were still clinging to the dark strands. "It seemed like a good idea at the time," she said ruefully. "But now, it is getting everywhere."

"I will send Harj," Morkazz promised, packing away his writing tools and stuffing them back into his pocket. "I go now to find a messenger."

Jeanne nodded and waved a hand to dismiss the counsellor, who bowed and slowly walked toward the throne room doors. As he left, Jeanne reached up and tugged off her thin crown, which also doubled as her shield against telepathic contact. A bitter smile twisted her face as she remembered lying about the device to Ivanova. Unlike the tale she had come up with, it hadn’t actually bonded to her skin or anything like that. In fact, she rarely ever wore the device. This world had no telepaths and she didn’t need a fancy crown to convince her followers of her right to rule.

Not that it was that fancy, just a thin circuit of dark metal with four medium sized emeralds mounted on the front. Jeanne rolled it between her finger, searching for cracks in the metal. The thin, hairline crack along the inner surface had not grown any larger, so she put it aside. Jeanne felt a little guilty about having to lie to Ivanova, but she had no other choice. There were some secrets hidden so deep inside her mind that no-one could ever be permitted to see, even if it meant lying to protect them.

 

* * *

 

Lily collapsed into the soft dirt, amazed that the climb was finally over. She had lost count of how many steps there had been, but it had seemed like thousands. With great difficulty she remembered why she had hurried ahead in the first place. She had wanted to check out the area before anyone else arrived, to ensure that it was safe. Her body felt so tired that she could barely even stand, but she still dragged herself up onto her feet and began a survey of the surrounding countryside.

To her surprise it was empty of any alien warriors, just a small forest and a long paved road that ran south, or at least the direction she imagined was south. It was almost impossible to tell the real direction without spotting some familiar landmark, or even better, possessing a fully automated portable navigation computer. She could see neither nearby though, so she arbitrarily called the direction the road travelled south.

The sound of footsteps on the stairs, distracted her observations and she turned to see who was coming. It turned out to be Nicolai Luchenko, complete with a cheerful grin and a heavy back of gems slung across one shoulder. Lily sighed and took a seat on a nearby rock, trying to ignore the shooting pain every movement seemed to be causing her. The pain was nearly as bad as it had been when she first woke up in the mines, and it was getting worse with every minute.

"Great view isn’t it, Lil," Nicolai said as soon as he climbed up the last of the staircase. He stood on the ledge and leaned against the railing, looking down at the huge shape of the war cruiser below them. "Now that is one incredible piece of machinery."

"I don’t think it has machinery," Lily muttered, noticing that whenever Nicolai was excited about something he seemed to lose his Russian accent. She knew he had spent most of his youth in Geneva, so the only time he had ever been back to Russia had been during holidays. Like much about Nicolai Luchenko, his accent was false and just designed to enhance his image. "Get away from the edge," she said finally, after watching him for nearly a minute. "There might be guards on one of those walkways."

Nicolai nodded and walked over to where she was sitting. "You don’t look well, Lil," he commented. "Are you sure you are OK?"

"I’m fine," Lily replied, although her pale face, and painful grimace whenever she moved, betrayed her true condition. "I just need to catch my breath."

Nicolai nodded. "Well, just let me know if you need a hand. I can carry you if you want me to."

Lily laughed. "As well as that bag you have been lugging around."

Nicolai self-consciously reached for the bag, before smiling. "I need to look after myself, Lil. My parents have cut off my allowance, so I need some sort of income. Why do you think I took this job in the first place? It certainly wasn’t for the adventure. I can have all the adventure I need back home."

"You are hopeless," Lily snorted, standing up and starting to walk away. As she took her first step though, she suddenly doubled over in pain.

"Lil!" Nicolai shouted, dropping his bag of gems and hurrying over to her side. "Are you all right?"

Lily tried to smile, but only achieved a grimace of pain. "I do... don’t think... so," she managed, before collapsing into the dirt.

Nicolai quickly knelt down and picked her up, carrying her gently over until he found somewhere that was a little cleaner and softer than the rough ground near the road. After setting Lily down on the ground, he reached into his pack and pulled out one of the light globes they had scavenged from the mines. Activating it, he bought it close to her face, shocked at how pale she appeared. "Don’t worry, Lil," he muttered. "I will look after you."

Fortunately he didn’t have long to wait for assistance, as the rest of the escaping prisoners arrived only a few minutes later. He had only gone ahead because he had wanted to take a look at the war cruiser before Lily made them continue on. Now, she wasn’t going to be giving any more orders for a while at least and they were on their own. For some reason, Nicolai found himself strangely frightened by that realisation.

 

* * *

 

"Are you sure we are going the right way?" Susan asked Azrak, after nearly ten minutes of climbing along a narrow pathway. "This looks like the way we came when we first approached your city."

"It is, Azrak confirmed. "The mines were below the bridge we crossed, so the prisoners have escaped this way. Come, they cannot be far away."

Susan nodded and hurried after the General. The rest of her team, including Talia and Melis, were waiting back at the cave with the Azrak’s warriors. It didn’t seem necessary to bring everyone, and Susan had to admit that she had learned a lot about the General and his people in the fifteen minutes or so that they had been clambering along this rough path.

A few quick questions had soon revealed the depth of Arisian culture. While it was obvious that Jeanne ruled almost every part of this world, it was also just as obvious that the Arisians still had a vibrant lifestyle that didn’t include their Mistress. Azrak had informed her that most Arisians were not allowed in to see the Mistress, only those of the highest rank. To most of the two million or so intelligent beings who lived on this world, she was just a distant being who looked over them and protected them. Despite the obvious parallels with Earth religions, it seemed that the Arisian’s were pretty much allowed to do as they pleased, as long as they followed the Mistress’ ten sacred laws. Azrak hadn’t been too forthcoming on exactly what these laws entailed, but Susan had received the impression that they were very similar to the ten commandments in the Christian religion back on Earth.

Surprisingly the few Arisians she had met didn’t have the appearance of a downtrodden race, so if they were slaves, then they were very happy slaves. Even the workers who were marching off to work on the new energy collection towers did not seem to be displeased with their lot in life. After another question to Azrak, she had discovered this was because Arisian culture was based on age. The older an Arisian became, the higher in rank he would become. Of course it was possible to rise in rank at a younger age though the completion of some great deed or service to the Mistress or the Arisian people. But if you were content being a worker, then you could remain that rank for the rest of your life. On the whole it didn’t seem like a bad place to live, Susan certainly wouldn’t have minded serving in an Earthforce where effort was rewarded the same way it was on this world.

"There," Azrak called, interrupting Susan’s train of thought.

Susan squinted into the darkness, finally locating a flickering light travelling slowly towards them. "Is that them?" she asked. "I can’t see anyone from here, just the light."

"My people do not carry lights," Azrak informed her. "We can see quite well in this darkness, although I imagine we see very differently from you Humans."

Susan nodded. "I imagine you do," she agreed. "How far away do you think they are?"

"Not far," Azrak replied. "Come, we will run to catch up with them." With that, he set off down the path at a fast trot, Susan hurrying to catch up with him.

It took them less than five minutes to reach the party of escaped prisoners, who were looking tired and worn out from their trek across the mountain side. Several were carrying mining picks and looked prepared to put up a fight when they saw the massive General running up, but they soon lowered their weapons when Susan arrived.

"Captain Ivanova," one of the prisoners said excitedly. "We heard you had come to rescue us. I’m Nicolai Luchenko. You might have heard of me."

Susan nodded, and looked around at the rest of the prisoners. "Where’s Major Logan?" she asked.

Nicolai turned more serious and pointed towards the back of his group. "She hasn’t been feeling well," he explained. "The Doc says that she has some sort of alien virus running around inside her, but it looked to me as if she is just tired. She has been pushing herself and everyone else far too hard over the past day or so."

Susan made her way back to where Lily was. She had been laid out on a makeshift stretcher constructed of a few branches that had probably been torn from a tree. Her face was pale, she was soaked with sweat and appeared to have a fever. A large, middle-aged man was standing nearby. "I am Dr. Abbado," he said sticking out his hand. "I have been taking care of Major Logan ever since she collapsed."

"What’s wrong with her," Susan asked.

"I think it is some kind of virus," the doctor said, not looking entirely convince with his own analysis. He pulled out his medical scanner and showed it to Susan. "I Can’t be sure with these instruments though. I need something more powerful before I could make a proper diagnosis."

Susan looked over at Azrak, who was watching the whole proceedings closely. "Can you get some of your warriors to help carry her?"

Azrak nodded. "There is a cart that is taking the equipment from your rover. We can carry her on that as well. I do not understand this though, the Mistress said she healed her."

Susan’s eyes narrowed. "What exactly happened to Major Logan," she asked.

"I do not really know," Azrak replied with a shrug. "I was not present. The Mistress does not kill though, she said that no-one must die, she made that quite clear."

Just then, Lily stirred and opened her eyes, looking up at Susan. "Cap..." she began, her voice so soft that her words were almost inaudible. "Don’t... win."

"What was that," Susan replied, bending down so she could hear better. Lily had dropped back into unconsciousness though. "Damn," Susan cursed. She looked up at Abbado. "Can you keep her comfortable until we make it back to the rover?" When the doctor nodded, she continued. "Good, then let’s get moving." Susan looked over at Azrak. "I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, General, but the sooner I am off this world the better."

 

* * *

 

 


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER ELEVEN   


* * *

 

Susan took a sip of her coffee, relishing the warm feeling the hot drink generated inside her. It felt good to finally have some real coffee, after surviving on the synthetic version for the past week. After taking another sip, she placed the cup down on her desk and returned to her work, endeavouring to decipher the information that had been on the data crystal that Jeanne had given her. 

On the screen at the moment was an incredibly beautiful holographic map, which showed the locale around the Vorlon storm generator. The detail was incredible, especially the representation of the machine itself. Every component of the huge device was shown, with notes about its functions and construction. Unfortunately though, all of those notes were in Vorlon and the Rasputin’s computer was unable to translate them. The only section of writing that was readable were the coordinates of the machine’s location, which had been written in an archaic form of French.

This was troubling Susan somewhat, as it was becoming obvious that Jeanne didn’t want her to know anything more than she needed to destroy the machine. The data crystal had contained a vast quantity of information, detailing everything about the storm generator, including blueprints. However, with only one exception, all of the information had been in the Vorlon language, which was not translatable by any know technique. The Vorlons preferred to translate other race’s languages than allow anyone to learn their own native tongue. Jeanne though, knew how to understand Vorlon, but for some reason hadn’t chosen to translate the rest of the information.

"No luck yet?" Talia asked, as she walked through the door leading from Susan’s quarters. The blonde telepath was wearing one of Susan’s bathrobes, her hair still wet from the shower. She held a hairbrush in one hand, and a steaming mug of hot tea in the other.

Susan shook her head. "It’s all in Vorlon," she complained. "The computer can’t translate Vorlon, so most of this data is useless. It looks like the complete schematics for the machine too. But, without being able to read the inscriptions, it’s all useless."

Talia sat down in the chair opposite. "I thought you said it was in French," she said, running the hairbrush through her still damp blonde tresses.

"Only the coordinates and the information that demonstrates how to destroy the machine. The rest is all in Vorlon."

"Do you need the remainder of the data though? Aren’t the coordinates all that you require?"

Susan nodded. "If all I wanted to do is destroy this blasted device, then that’s all I need. However, I’m curious. Why didn’t she translate the rest of the information?"

"Probably because she didn’t want anyone to be able to recreate the device. I can understand how she must feel too, I’ve also been trapped somewhere I didn’t want to be. Until you came along and freed me, or course."

"Perhaps," Susan murmured, switching off the screen. "Then why bother giving me all the schematics? It just doesn’t make sense."

"You are getting paranoid again, Susan," Talia laughed.

"I can’t help it," Susan replied, pulling the data crystal from the reader and tossing it on her desk. "This whole thing that just doesn’t add up. Besides I think I have seen Jeanne somewhere before."

"You have?" Talia asked, sounding sceptical. "She has been down on that world for the past eight hundred years, so I don’t think she would get out much."

"I know," Susan replied, a little irritably. "That’s what’s bugging me. I believe that part of her story, yet I’m sure I’ve seen her before. I didn’t realise it at first, but on the way back here in the rover I realised that both her voice and face were familiar. I just can’t remember exactly where it was I saw her."

"You should have gone back and asked Jeanne then," Talia suggested, a faint smile on her face.

"I was more concerned with other problems by then."

Talia nodded, her expression growing more serious. "How is Major Logan? She looked so sick on the rover."

Susan shrugged. "No-one knows for sure yet. Dr. Habbib thinks she is suffering from nothing more than exhaustion, but has ordered her placed in isolation just in case there is an alien virus affecting her system. That doctor from the Sturt, Abbado I think his name was, seemed sure he had found something, but none of the instruments in sick bay have been able to detect even the slightest trace of anything irregular in her bloodstream."

"Do we all have to go in for a checkup?" Talia asked. "I heard you say something like that to Commander Petrov. One of the medical staff did scan me when I came on board, but I was wondering if you wanted more tests done."

"Only if Major Logan is found to be carrying a dangerous virus. I left orders with Dr. Habbib, asking him to scrutinise the first shuttle load of crew members from the Sturt when they arrived. He didn’t locate any unfamiliar organisms in their bodies, so I guess we are probably clean. Let him know if you are feeling sick or anything though."

Talia nodded, before putting down her hairbrush and picking up her mug of tea. "I’m glad we’re back," she said, after taking a long sip of the hot drink. "It’s nice to have a change of clothing at last."

"That’s my robe, isn’t it?"

"I thought you wouldn’t mind," Talia replied with a wicked smile. "By the way, you do intend to have a shower, don’t you?" she asked, looking pointedly at Susan’s uniform, which was same one she had been wearing for the past three days.

"As soon as I get all the important things out of the way," Susan replied. "Since I’ve got back on board, I’ve had to organise someone to take a look at the information on the data crystal..."

"The one on your desk," Talia interrupted, pointing to the crystal resting next to the illuminated keyboard.

Susan shook her head. "No, not that one. That’s only a copy I had made so I could examine the data for myself. Not that I have found out anything, of course."

"Didn’t you discover the coordinates of the machine?"

"Anyone could have done that," Susan said. "I was hoping for something a little more solid."

"Have you decided to help Jeanne yet?"

"I don’t know," Susan replied. "There is something about her story that is niggling away at me, as if someone is trying to tell me not to trust her. On the other hand, I want to help the Arisian people, if only to stop any more dying trying to destroy that machine. So you might say I am little undecided at the moment. What do you think I should do?"

Talia shrugged, trying to appear noncommittal. "I can’t tell you how to do your job, Susan. However, I do believe that Jeanne was telling the truth. I mightn’t have been able to read her mind, but there was a ring of truth to her words."

Susan picked up her coffee mug and considered the remnants of her drink for several seconds. "I felt the opposite," she admitted finally. "I thought she was lying, especially when I asked her what her plans were when she was freed."

"I’m sure you will do the right thing," Talia said confidently.

"I wish I could be that certain," Susan said, with a wry smile on her face. "After all that trouble we had with the Vorlons and the Shadows last year, I keep worrying that if I free Jeanne, she might turn out to be just as bad as they were. The fact that she admitted killing seven Vorlons scares the hell out of me, especially after all the trouble we had on Babylon 5 trying to kill just one."

Just then, Susan’s link beeped. She stared at it with an annoyed expression on her face, before tapping it and saying. "Ivanova."

"Captain," the voice of Commander Petrov said. "I have Admiral Mellor on the link from Earthdome. He said that it was very important."

"Put him through to my office."

"I had better go," Talia said, standing up "We can’t have the Admiral thinking that you are sleeping with the enemy, can we now." She walked around to Susan’s side of the desk and bent over, giving Susan a quick kiss on the cheek. "I have to get changed anyway, especially if you want your robe back."

Susan nodded, and waited while Talia slipped back through the door into her quarters. As soon as Talia had left the room, Susan turned to the wall-mounted screen. "Receive incoming message."

The screen beeped once and then the standard Earthforce symbol was replaced with the face of Admiral Mellor "Captain Ivanova," the Admiral began. "I’m delighted to see you made it back all right."

"It was a little tougher than I thought, Admiral," Susan admitted. Then she frowned, suddenly remembering that she hadn’t contacted Earthdome since her return. "If you will forgive me for asking, Sir, how did you know I had returned from the surface? I only arrived back on board four hours ago and haven’t had time to send in a report yet."

"I just had a message from the President’s office," Mellor explained. "Apparently she had a request from IPX..."

"Melis!" Susan muttered under her breath.

"Sorry, what was that, Captain?"

"I just remembered that the head of the IPX team you sent with us requested an interstellar link almost as soon as he came back on board."

Mellor nodded. "Yes, the request from IPX is based on his report. Apparently Dr. Melis found a possible source of Vorlon technology on Arias. IPX and Earthdome want to get their hands on it before any of the other races find out."

Susan looked amazed, realising now why the doctor had been so interested in the Arisian technology when they had been in the city. "He didn’t mention that the Vorlon technology was in the hands of the native population did he?" she asked.

"Dr. Melis’ report was very comprehensive, Captain. It has certainly raised some eyebrows here on Earth. The President is said to be very pleased with your work. In fact, she has asked for you to personally open trade negotiations with the Arisian leader as soon as possible."

"Trade negotiations?" Susan spluttered. "Admiral, I’m trying to decide the level of threat this race could pose to the Earth alliance, and the President wants to open trade negotiations? Didn’t Dr. Melis’ report tell you anything about the leader of this world?"

Mellor shook his head. "It was a bit vague on that matter." He paused and looked down at a sheet of paper on his desk. "In fact, it says here that you had a private meeting with the Arisian leader and never told the doctor the details of what was discussed."

"I didn’t have the time, and quite frankly I didn’t think it was any of his business."

"You’re probably correct," Mellor said with a smile. "IPX is always trying to poke their noses into places they don’t belong." The Admiral pushed his papers to one side and his expression grew serious. "Is this new race dangerous, Captain? Dr. Melis’ reports that they are fairly accommodating, and posed no threat to the Earth Alliance. I am well aware that Arias lies on our border, so if there is a threat then I would like to know. We have had trouble with IPX before, and despite their high standing with the government, Earthforce command takes a different approach on matters that could threaten the Alliance."

"I’m not sure," Susan admitted. "The Arisians themselves do not appear to be dangerous, but their ruler is a human woman who was altered by the Vorlons. She controls at least one Vorlon war cruiser and could be a threat if her intentions towards Earth are not peaceful."

"A human?" Mellor asked, looking shocked. "How long has she been ruling Arias?"

"A long time, if what she said was true. It appears that she was working for the Vorlons and then turned against them. In response, they imprisoned her on Arias so she couldn’t threaten them."

"Is she dangerous?"

Susan grimaced. "I’m not sure, Admiral. She did take several of the Sturt’s crew prisoner, as well as one of my officers. However, she also released them at my request, although she made a request of her own in return."

Mellor nodded, picking up the report again. "Yes, I have a mention of that here. Dr. Melis says that the people of Arias have requested that you remove a Vorlon machine that is affecting the planet’s weather. Is that correct?"

"Mostly," Susan replied. "The storm this machine is generating also imprisons Jeanne, that’s the Arisian leader’s name. She has personally asked for me to destroy it, so that she can leave this world."

"I don’t see the problem," Mellor said. "It might advance the cause of a possible trade treaty with Arias if you assist them. Of course, I don’t have all the information on hand, so I will have to wait until I get your report on the situation before making a decision."

"I am a little busy at the moment, Sir," Susan argued. "I still have a small number of the Rasputin’s marines down on the surface, along with nearly a hundred crew members from the Sturt. I would like to get them off the planet before I consider anything else."

"I understand, Captain," Mellor replied. "Look, I will leave this in your court. The President has made a request, but, based on the information I have, it looks like the only way to communicate with these Arisians is to actually go down the surface and trek overland. I can’t really ask you do that again, especially as this is still only an informal order. The Joint Chiefs are meeting in three days time to discuss the president’s request, among an assortment of other matters, so you have until then to send back something I can use. If there is a threat from this world, then I want to know. On the other hand, if you think it safe, then the possibility of trading for Vorlon technology is something we may not be able to turn down."

"I understand, Admiral," Susan replied.

"Good," Mellor said. "I expect to hear from you sometime in the next three days then. Earthdome out."

Susan groaned as she switched off the screen. "Damn that arrogant bastard," she muttered, snatching up the data crystal from her desk. She was about to march off and confront Melis, when she noticed Talia watching her from the doorway. "Did you catch any of that," she asked.

Talia nodded. "Only the last part, but I think I heard enough."

"We have only been back on board for four hours, where did he get the time to write a report?"

"On the rover on the way back," Talia reminded her. "Don’t you remember? He was busy with that data pad all the time. I didn’t think anything of it at the time though."

"I’m still amazed that IPX could put in a request like that so quickly, let alone send out copies of Melis’ report to the president and the Admiral."

"People can move pretty fast when there is money involved," Talia commented bitterly.

Susan nodded. "I know what you mean, if a company like IPX did gain access to Vorlon technology, even just the secret of that organic metal they were using down on the planet, they would stand to make billions of credits. Despite their faults, the Vorlons were a very advanced race and their technology is thousands, if not tens of thousands of years ahead of anything Earth or most of the other races have."

"That explains their haste then," Talia said. "They want to be the first in, probably so they can sign an exclusive trade deal or something like that."

It makes me suspect that Earth, and certainly the Arisians, would be better off if we left this world as it is," Susan muttered. "I can already see the scavengers circling around the planet, eager to strip it of anything that might make them money."

"Have you decided what to do yet?" Talia asked.

Susan shook her head. "No, not yet. I wanted to see what we could find out from that data crystal first, before making a decision either way. But, after this, I am leaning towards helping Jeanne. Compared to Melis and his IPX buddies, she’s a saint."

"Do you want to get some lunch then? It is nearly that time and I am sick of eating ration bars."

"I think I might have a shower first," Susan replied, heading towards her room.

"I might join you then," Talia grinned, stepping back inside Susan’s quarters and pressing the button to lock the door behind them. "After all, you can never be too clean."

 

* * *

 

Three hours later, dressed in a fresh uniform and looking considerably cleaner than she had been when she arrived back on the Rasputin, Susan met with her senior officers in the warship’s conference room. She had already spent the past half hour explaining what she had discovered during her trip to the surface, leaving out, of course, anything she had learned due to her telepathic powers. Now she was waiting for a report about the feasibility of destroying the machine.

In the centre of the room, suspended in mid air above the main table, was a large holographic model of the Vorlon storm generator. Lt. Commander Dreyer, the Rasputin’s chief gunnery officer, was currently speaking, using a remote control for holographic display to highlight his explanations. "It appears that it is possible to destroy this machine," Dreyer began, pointing to the diagram of the gigantic Vorlon structure. "We haven’t been able to decipher the Vorlon writing, which isn’t that surprising, but the instructions on the data crystal were clear enough explain the basics."

"Enough to understand how the machine works?" Petrov asked.

Dreyer shook his head. "I’m afraid not. It’s possible that Dr. Melis and his team may discover something more about its function, but the information I examined demonstrated only what was needed to destroy the device, nothing more." He paused in his explanation to alter the view of the device, then pointed to a small nodule near the centre of the main spire. "This appears to be the most important part of the entire complex. According to the information provided, all we need to do is destroy this node and the device will be rendered completely inoperative."

"How?" Susan asked. "I find it difficult to believe that the Vorlons would leave in a flaw like that. From what I can see, it doesn’t look like it is protected in any way."

"That’s not entirely true," Dreyer corrected, pointing out four large edifices, each nearly a kilometre away from the main structure. "It appears that these devices here cool the temperature across the entire region, making it impossible to approach by land. This would explain why it hasn’t been destroyed by now."

"He’s right," Lt. Commander Schmitt confirmed. "I had one of the Starfury patrols go down and take a look at the borders of the cloud shortly after we arrived. They reported that there is a vast plain of ice, stretching for perhaps thirty kilometres, in the region where this machine is supposed to be located. It was all inside the cloud-covered region though, so they couldn’t go close enough to see any details. Further flight confirmed that this is the only ice on the entire moon, which suggests that it probably artificially generated."

"I knew about the ice," Susan said. "However, I thought there would be some sort of defence system as well, just in case of an attack from space or the air."

"Energy weapons probably wouldn’t be usable at such a low temperature," Dreyer commented. "They would be all right in space, but on the surface they would ice up. Also, they might have been relying on the orbital defensive grid. Although I doubt that one satellite would be much use against a determined attacker."

"There is debris in the upper atmosphere that suggests there might once have been more satellites," Schmitt offered. When Susan looked at him when a questioning expression, he added, "We discovered it during the sweeps of the upper atmosphere last week. There isn’t a lot there, I would guess most of it burnt up in the atmosphere centuries ago, but it does match the debris from the satellite we destroyed. Given the power of the one we destroyed, I would think around twenty or thirty would have been enough to protect the planet from most attacks."

Susan nodded. "That makes sense," she agreed. "That means that this machine is now vulnerable. The question is, are you certain it can be destroyed? I want to know for sure, before committing myself either way."

"I believe so," Dreyer said. "Of course, we will never know until we try. But, taking into account the capacity of the Rasputin’s main gun and the relative strength of the Vorlon metal, then I think it can be taken out. Obviously the whole structure is just too massive to destroy with a single shot, but a pinpoint strike against that node I indicated may work. Of course, that is assuming that destroying the node will take out the whole thing. I suspect we will just have to trust the information we have been given."

"Which leaves the question, do we destroy the machine, or do we leave it as it is?" Susan asked.

"Didn’t you say that Admiral Mellor ordered us to destroy it?" Dreyer queried, looking a little confused as to why Susan was even asking the question.

Susan shook her head. "No, he said that he had been requested by IPX, through the president’s office, to open trade negotiations with Arias. He suggested that a way of improving relations would be to agree to Jeanne’s request and destroy the Vorlon storm generator. He did not, however, order us to agree to that request, at least not just yet. He also asked for a report on the threat potential of the Arisian race."

"Are they a threat, though?" Commander Petrov asked. "Correct me if I am wrong, but don’t they still use swords. That doesn’t sound as if they are a very big threat to Earth or any of the other worlds."

"They do have their armour as well," Susan pointed out. "I didn’t see it in action, but it is supposed to absorb energy, and that would make most of our weapons useless."

"Not all of them, Captain," Dreyer corrected. "I don’t know how strong the material of this armour is, but I have seen one of those old flechette pistols cut through solid steel. One of those combat rifles the GROPOS use should take care of any armour, I think they fire armour-piecing rounds. Most PPG weapons have limited physical impact as they are designed for use in space where any hull breach is a potential disaster, but even the most basic slug-thrower should give those creatures something to think about."

"That just leaves the Vorlon war cruiser," Petrov said. "I don’t know what you think, Captain, but it is my opinion that one ship, no matter how powerful, couldn’t cause too much trouble."

"What about that warship we took out over Proxima?" Susan said. "That nearly destroyed this vessel and an entire fleet of Omega’s."

"That wasn’t just one vessel though, was it," Petrov replied. "If it had been, then we would have taken it out a lot quicker than we did. Those fighters did most of the damage."

"Do Vorlon ships carry fighters?" Lt. Commander Schmitt asked.

"I don’t know," Susan replied. "I have always seen their big warships accompanied by a fighter screen, but I have never actually seen them launch fighters. I would suggest that they don’t carry any, although it is possible."

"So, we are only looking at a single warship then," Petrov continued. "We are also assuming that this Jeanne woman actually intends on attacking Earth."

"One of the reasons the Vorlon’s imprisoned her on this world, was because she wanted to conquer Earth," Susan reminded him. "It is possible that she might try to act on that desire if we free her from this world."

Petrov shrugged. "It is possible, Captain. But I don’t think it is very likely that she would succeed. Once that storm is gone, it wouldn’t be very difficult to attack this world. There are no defensive satellites and from what you have told me, there are also no ground-based weapons. A single vessel, like the Rasputin for example, would be able to devastate most the surface of the planet with virtually no way of preventing the attack."

"You think we should agree to her request then and destroy this machine?"

"It would make the rescue operation easier," Petrov replied. "If it wasn’t for that storm, we would have been on our way back to Earth a day after we arrived. Instead, we are still stuck here while the remainder of the Sturt’s crew is retrieved. That will be for at least another week. Also it would be possible to retrieve the Sturt intact, which should make IPX happy."

"I agree," Schmitt added. "I would make our rescue mission considerably easier."

"And I don’t really care one way or the other," Dreyer said. "I just pull the trigger. It isn’t my place to question orders. Whatever decision you reach, I will do whatever I can to assist."

Susan nodded slowly, considering all the arguments she had heard. "I’m still not entirely convinced of Jeanne’s motives," she said finally. "But I agree that no matter what she is planning, there isn’t a lot she can do if we keep a close eye on her."

"So we try and destroy this machine?" Petrov asked.

"That’s correct," Susan replied. "Lt. Commander Dreyer, can you begin the necessary calculations at once. I want this over and done with as soon as possible, so we can complete our mission before anything else happens."

"Sounds like a good idea to me, Captain," Dreyer said, with a salute. "I have already finished the calculations in fact. All we need to do is to move the Rasputin into position above this machine, and I should be able to take care of it for you."

"Can you hit this node?"

"I can hit almost anything if I have enough time to line up the shot," Dreyer replied. "This is a fairly easy shot compared to some. The target isn’t moving, and the coordinates on the data crystal are very accurate. It shouldn’t be any trouble at all."

"All right, get started then," Susan ordered. Then she turned to the other officers in the room. "Lt. Commander Schmitt, organise a flight of starfuries for launch. If that cloud does start to disperse, I want them ready to examine every inch of the surface. Also prepare a squadron of Thunderbolts and arm them for a ground assault mission."

"What are you planning?" Petrov asked as the Rasputin’s two junior officers hurried out the conference room to carry out their Captain’s orders.

"Just a precaution," Susan replied. "Just in case, Jeanne’s intentions are not as pure as she claims. That Vorlon warship of hers is currently on the ground, and it will take hours before it can be recharged, if not days. If she is planning some kind of treachery, then I can plan just as well as she can. A squadron of Thunderbolt’s loaded up with ground attack missiles should be enough to collapse the canyon wall, burying that ship under tons of rock."

"Are you sure that is wise?" Petrov asked. "Won’t that be considered an act of war?"

"As I said, it’s just a precaution. I have no intention on sending the fighters down there unless I feel there is a possible threat to the Earth Alliance or my ship."

Petrov nodded. "That seems wise," he agreed, as they both left the conference room and headed towards the bridge.

 

* * *

 

"We are now in position over the coordinates indicated, Captain," Petrov announced. "I have locked the Rasputin in a geostationary orbit, and Lt. Commander Dreyer reports that he has prepared the main gun for firing. All he is waiting on is your command."

Susan nodded and turned back to examine the small jungle moon that lay below them. From above, the storm cloud looked like a vast ink stain, blotting out the natural greens and browns of Arias’ jungles and leaving nothing but darkness. If Jeanne’s assertions were correct, then a single shot from the Rasputin’s powerful main gun and the storm would be gone for good. The particle cannon had been targeted on the storm generator, and now its crew were only waiting for was a single word from her. The trouble was, she was still debating the wisdom of issuing that command. As much as she hated to admit it, this decision would have been considerably easier if she had been able to use her telepathic powers to determine the truth to Jeanne’s assertions. But that hadn’t been possible, so now Susan was forced to rely on her own judgement.

"Captain?" Petrov asked. "Is there anything wrong?"

"Just a minute, Commander" Susan replied irritably. On the holographic screen above her, the Rasputin’s external camera was showing part the vast storm, and she could see some of the lightning that constantly arched across the world. Susan found her mind shifting to the plight of those caught beneath the storm. She remembered that this wasn’t just about one person, but about an entire race. If she refused to help them now, then she wasn’t just condemning Jeanne to die, but possibly thousands of Arisians as well. She knew she couldn’t do that, condemn someone to die, just because they could be a threat. Tapping a control on her console, Susan opened a link to the control room for the main gun. "Lt. Commander Dreyer, you may fire when ready."

"Confirmed, Captain," the voice of the gunnery chief responded. "Firing particle cannon."

On the holographic screen, twin beams of purple energy sliced downwards toward the planet’s atmosphere. They cut straight through the storm clouds and impacted on ground beneath. For a second, Susan imagined that she saw the clouds part where the beams had struck, but the two tiny holes in the storm were quickly patched over. "Any effect?" she asked Petrov, who was watching the readouts from the Rasputin’s sensors.

"Nothing so far, Captain," the Commander answered. "Of course, the destruction of the node may not have caused any visible effect."

"Or we could have missed."

"Do you want me to order another strike?" Petrov asked. "We can level that entire region if you think it’s necessary."

Susan shook her head. "Not yet, we will give it time. It may take several hours for any noticeable effect to show."

"The instrument’s aren’t showing any change in the disposition of the storm," Petrov informed her. "It is still behaving just as violently as before. If it’s being artificially generated, I would have expected an immediate effect to show up, perhaps not visually, but at least something on the instruments." 

As Petrov finished speaking, a bright flash suddenly lit up the surface of the moon, creating a ripple of energy that swept through the storm. "What the hell?" Susan muttered, turning back to the screen, just in time to see a gigantic mushroom cloud rising out of the atmosphere. "Tell me that isn’t what I think it is."

"I’m afraid it is, Captain," Petrov said, reading the data off his console. "The sensors report a thermonuclear detonation. The computer is estimating it as approximately five megatons in size. It appears to have been mostly underground, but damage to the immediate vicinity has been extensive."

Susan nodded. "I hope there was no-one living down there," she said. "Any idea on what caused it."

"I wouldn’t have a clue," Petrov admitted. Then he paused, reading a new message that had just appeared on his console. "Just a minute, I have a visual link with the gun camera from one of the starfuries patrolling above the moon. The pilot is sending in an image of the ground near the detonation site."

"Show me," Susan demanded.

Petrov quickly complied, bringing the feed from the starfury’s camera up on the main screen. "It doesn’t look good," he said, as soon as the image of a vast crater appeared. Lava could be seen leaping high into the air from the centre of the crater and a cloud of dust and pulverised rock was slowly spreading across the planet’s surface. "Looks like we hit something vital," he muttered to himself.

"Is there any effect on the planet?" Susan asked.

Petrov consulted the sensors again. "Planet wide seismic activity, concentrated mainly around the blast site. It only appears to be an after effect of the explosion though, not a symptom of anything more deadly. Apart from that, there appears to be little major effect. It is a good thing the explosion took place underground, or everything within forty kilometres of that site would have been levelled."

"And the storm?"

"It’s still there. Wait, scrap that. It appears that it is beginning to break down into a series of smaller weather patterns. There are several places where I can see all that way through to the planet’s surface. It looks like it worked, Captain."

"I wasn’t expecting the whole place to explode though," Susan said. "I just hope everyone is still all right down there."

 

* * *

 

A faint tremor ran through the throne room floor. It was almost undetectable, but Jeanne noticed. The throne room, like the palace and the rest of the great city, had been stable for so long that even the slightest movement was noticed. Morkazz also noticed the faint shifting of the earth below them, suddenly standing up and looking around nervously. "What is happening, Mistress?" he asked anxiously.

"It appears that Captain Ivanova chose to help me after all," Jeanne replied softly, hauling herself up from her cold throne and walking slowly across to one the tall stained glass windows that looked out on the walls of the crater beyond. Morkazz followed, one hand gripping his quill, while the other crumpled several sheets of paper. They were all very important documents, but right now they just didn’t seem important.

In the sky above, the lightning was even more violent than ever and the dark clouds seemed to crash together as if at war. A spot of rain splashed against the window, quickly followed by another and another until the spots became a great deluge, as if the storm was giving one last dying performance before expiring and departing from Arias for good.

"It is beginning, Morkazz," Jeanne said, pointing up at a bright dot in the sky. The counsellor followed her gaze and saw, to his astonishment, a tiny patch of blue beginning to break through the darkness. "She has done it."

"Is that what made the earth move?" Morkazz asked.

Jeanne nodded. "A final, futile attempt on the Vorlons part to stop me. They constructed their device so that any attempt to shut it down would cause a chain reaction that would destroy it and anyone nearby. A last desperate gesture of defiance from a race that should have died out long ago."

"I do not understand. What is a... chain reaction?"

Jeanne turned at smiled adoringly at her advisor. "Do not concern yourself, Morkazz. It is not important. Be happy that we have won and the Vorlons have finally lost."

"I am happy, Mistress," the Counsellor replied. "However, I am also sad because you will soon be leaving us."

"I will always be here in spirit, Counsellor," Jeanne said softly. "As long as someone on this world remembers me, I will always be here."

"We will remember you, Mistress. We will always remember what you have done for our people."

"Good, but for now you must leave me. The sun will soon be shining down on this... prison that I have called home for the past eight hundred years. It is a very special event and I must be alone so I can enjoy it fully. You may notice some changes in me when you return, but no matter how I appear, it will always be the same person inside. Do you understand?"

Morkazz nodded. "I think I understand, Mistress."

"Then leave me here. I must recover my strength and become what I need to become. I will call you when I am ready to talk again. It may be some time though."

After a long bow in Jeanne’s direction, Morkazz swivelled around and headed towards the throne room door, with only the occasional glance back at the window to ensure that Jeanne was still there. Jeanne barely even noticed him leaving, her attention was now firmly focussed on the tiny patch of blue in the middle of the storm cloud and the ray of sunlight that shone down onto the ground below. After eight hundred years of darkness, there was no more beautiful sight she could imagine than that of the sun breaking out from behind a cloud.

Once, when she had still been a naive and immature mortal girl, Jeanne would have imagined the single ray of sunshine to be a blessing from her god, a sign to wonder at. She knew better now, but the sight was no less glorious to her tired and ancient eyes than it had been to a young peasant girl playing on her father’s farm. The agony of her long imprisonment was finally beginning to fade away, and soon she would feel nothing but the ecstasy and warmth of the sun’s loving embrace.

Reaching up, she gripped the lever that opened the window and allowed her access onto the ledge outside. It had become stuck after several centuries of idleness, but with a single sharp twist of her hand, it soon opened. Likewise, the window also creaked open after she applied a sufficient amount of pressure. Then, with the anticipation over what she would soon experience growing within her, Jeanne stepped out of the palace for the first time in nearly four centuries.

There was a ledge outside the window, running around the entire palace. Once, long, long ago, Jeanne had enjoyed walking along the ledge during the day, watching the lightning play across the sky and imagining a time when she could look up into the sky and see the gigantic shape of the gas giant Arias orbited, instead of the featureless cloud that dominated her world. Now that day was nearly upon her, so tantalisingly close that she could nearly feel the suns rays on her skin and the energy entering her body.

It was still raining outside, but Jeanne ignored the wetness soaking her gown and walked slowly along the slippery ledge towards the northern side of the palace. The crater wall was lowest there, and it was also the location where she had the best view of the single ray of sunlight. Free of the Vorlon’s machine, the natural weather of the jungle moon was beginning to reassert itself. Across the entire region once covered by the massive cloud, rain was thundering down, the storm doing its best to lose the heavy load of moisture it had been storing.

The deluge felt like a thousand tiny pinpricks on Jeanne’s skin, as each drop stung her sensitive flesh. She didn’t care, as she could already see the effect the rain was having. As each minute passed the clouds above her lightened and the lightning began to slowly fade away. Then, all of a sudden, the rain began to stop and Jeanne looked up, right into the blazing glare of Arias’ sun.

A blazing pain washed through her entire body, only to be replaced a moment later by a feeling of pure euphoria. Her body, which had ached so constantly that she had become used to the pain, suddenly felt light and powerful, while every pore on her skin tingled with vibrant energy. She felt like singing and dancing for joy, but at the same time found herself fixed in position, unable to move.

Time passed, Jeanne wasn’t sure how long, but she eventually began to notice a change in the sky as the wind blew the clouds away to the south and the sky above became a smooth azure plain. The light of the sun had transfixed her though, and the changes above her seemed unimportant now, just side issues to the exhilaration she was feeling inside.

Finally though, the light that shone down on her began to fade as the sun drooped towards the west, eventually passing below the horizon, bringing darkness to Arias once more. This time though, the darkness was not complete, stars shone down from the heavens and one particularly bright one caught her attention. Jeanne stood and watched the stars twinkle for hours, until the sun again began to rise over Arias. It was then she turned and walked back into the throne room.

This time though, it wasn’t like returning to her old prison, instead it was a starting point of a new and wonderful life. Eight hundred and fifty years ago, when she had first started this journey, Jeanne could not have imagined where her long life would lead her. There had been moments of joy and centuries of pain and anguish, but how she stood on the threshold of a new beginning. This time though, it wasn’t the same as her first life. She felt pure now, uncontaminated by her mortal existence and she knew, without a trace of doubt, that this time it was going to be different than before.

 

* * *

 

Jeanne hadn’t been the only one to notice the effect of the storm generator’s destruction. At the same time as a faint tremor was being detected in her throne room, a much stronger earthquake was being felt by the inhabitants of the vast swamp. On the darkened bridge of the Sturt, General Azrak suddenly looked up with a startled expression on his face and stared at the vibrating hull in concern. "What is causing that?" he asked Captain Lawton, who was slumped in a chair nearby.

Lawton shrugged, indifferent to this new problem in his already miserable life. "It feels a little like an earthquake," he replied eventually. "Of course I would know for sure if I was outside."

Azrak stared at him suspiciously for a moment, before nodding. "Go then, but I will be right beside you, so do not try to escape. The Mistress has asked me to keep you here until Captain Ivanova does as she asks. Do not try and oppose her will. She may order you punished if you do not comply with her wishes."

Lawton didn’t respond verbally, but his angry gaze said a lot more than words ever could. He still felt annoyed with himself for allowing his ship to be taken so quickly. Even the Rasputin’s marines had been surprised when the swamp had suddenly come alive with more than two hundred alien warriors, who quickly swarmed across the survey ship, confiscating weapons, and then setting up camp on the island the Sturt rested on.

His crew, along with the small force of soldiers who had been supposed to protect them, were now imprisoned in the survey ship’s cargo decks. Only a few of the crew members had been allowed to leave their makeshift prisons, although only so they could explain to the aliens how the ship’s systems worked. Now, he was forced to play tourist guide for the alien leader.

Opening the large outer hatch, Lawton and Azrak stepped out on the muddy island that had been the ship’s home for the past few weeks. It was pouring with rain across the entire swamp, reminding the Captain of the tropical deluges he had witnessed back home in Rangoon. It had rained before during their stay in the swamp, but it had never been anything like this. It was almost as if the heavens had opened and an entire ocean was being dumped onto the world below. "What is going on?" Azrak demanded, still concerned about the tremors that shook the island beneath his feet.

"It’s raining," Lawton replied. "I’m sure you have seen rain before."

"Not the rain," Azrak corrected, pointing towards a spot in the sky to the north. "What is that?"

Lawton turned and, through the deluge, he could see a single ray of sunlight reaching down from the dark cloud. From a distant, through the curtain of water that was falling from the sky, the wavy line of sunlight looked like a ladder reaching up into the clouds. "It’s the sun," he said in amazement.

Azrak stared at the ray of light for nearly a minute, before replying. "It does not look like the sun I remember," he muttered. "I saw the sun several time during my days as a border scout, and it is a great ball of fire in the sky, not something like that." He waved his clawed hand in the direction of the break in the clouds.

"You have never seen the sun shining through the clouds before?" Lawton asked.

Azrak shook his head. "No, the sun never shines through the clouds. This is a widely known fact among my people. The sun only comes after you leave the clouds."

"It does normally," Lawton explained. "On my world, and on every other alien world I've ever heard of, it does."

"Does this mean that Captain Ivanova has done as the Mistress asked?"

"It may well do," Lawton agreed hopefully.

Above them, the deluge of rain began to diminish in strength, becoming a light shower and then finally fading away all together a few minutes later. "Look," Lawton said suddenly, pointing to the south, where he had just spotted another ray of sunlight breaking through the clouds, looking like a searchlight in the darkness. "It seems that you will see the sun soon enough, General Azrak."

A wind began to pick up, blowing across the once tranquil swamp and creating ripples and tiny waves in the stagnant water. With coming of the wind, the storm above them finally began to disperse, breaking up into fluffy white patches of cloud on a beautiful blue background. "I guess you will be leaving now, won’t you," Lawton asked, looking over at Azrak.

The General nodded, sneaking the occasional suspicious glare at his world’s new skyline. "The Mistress said that if the storm left, you would be free to depart. My soldiers will be leave now, and you must also leave as soon as you are able. The Mistress will demand it."

"Don’t worry," Lawton laughed. "I intend to get off this world as soon as possible. You can count on that."

 

* * *

 

"Captain," Petrov called out. "I have found something I think you should take a look at. I’m just transferring it to the main screen now."

Susan nodded and turned to watch as the view of the planet’s surface zoomed in to show a small patch of ground about three kilometres south of the alien city. "That’s one of those towers isn’t it?" she asked, recognising the structure she was looking at. Then she frowned, noticing that it looked almost as though it was starting to collapse. "What is going on down there?"

"It appears that I was correct after all, Captain," Dr. Melis said smugly. "It is a solar power plant."

Susan frowned angrily at the doctor’s interruption, before realising what the tower was doing. Six gigantic arms were slowly extending from the sides, and each arm was deploying vast triangular panels. It took nearly ten minutes for the tower to fully deploy, but when it was finished, a vast black circle started up at them. "How many of those towers are there?" she asked nervously.

"At least fifty," Melis replied. "Even is each one is only 50 percent efficient, then they must be draining a vast amount of energy, probably enough to run one of Earth’s major cities for weeks. I can’t wait to start building them on Earth. They would solve so many of our energy needs."

"They have to agree to trade with Earth first," Susan muttered, looking at Melis with the same enthusiasm she had Bester and his psi-cops. She was beginning to wish that she had never allowed him back onto the bridge.

"A trivial matter at best," Melis said dismissively. "Why would they refuse to trade with us? There must be things that they can’t produce on their world, and they are certain have new technologies that Earth would be willing to pay for."

"That may be true, but any negotiations will have to wait until I have deemed the planet safe enough to travel to again. I don’t want to have to come back here and rescue another group of foolish explorers."

"IPX has the permission of the president," Melis argued. "You have to assist us in our mission."

Susan shook her head. "I’m afraid you are mistaken, Doctor," she said with a faint smile. "I don’t have to do anything of the sort. My mission was to rescue the Sturt and her crew. The mission profile and orders said nothing about helping you to exploit some poor, alien race. Until those orders change, I intend on carrying out my primary mission. So, until I say otherwise, no shuttles are to leave for the surface unless they are going to collect crew from the Sturt. I trust you understand."

Melis looked like he was about to explode, but any comment he was going to make was cut short by the Rasputin’s communications officer. "I have Captain Lawton wanting to speak to you, Captain."

Susan nodded. "Put him through."

Seconds later, the voice of the Sturt’s captain filled the bridge. "Captain Ivanova? Are you there?"

"I’m here," Susan confirmed. "What can I do for you, Captain Lawton?"

"Thank God," Lawton replied. "I was afraid that we weren’t going to get in contact with you again. Those alien bastards have been swarming all over the Sturt for the past two days. They said they weren’t going to allow us to leave, unless you agreed to do their Mistress’ bidding."

"What? She promised to let the Sturt and her crew go free."

"They must have changed their minds then, Captain," Lawton replied. "That General Azrak certainly didn’t seem very interested in letting us leave, at least not until the sun began to break through the clouds. That was a quite wonderful sight by the way, something I never thought I would ever see again."

"Is everyone all right down there?" Susan asked, feeling strangely numb as she realised that Jeanne had not kept her word about letting all of the prisoners go free.

"We’re all fine now, Captain," Lawton replied. "Never better in fact. The solar collectors are working again and my crew assure me that we will be ready for flight in around ten hours time. We want to check all the systems first though, not to mention the hull, before committing to a take off."

"Understood. Do you require any assistance? I can send down a shuttle with anything you might need."

"I think we should be all right for now," Lawton replied. "I will let you know if we need anything before we leave. There is just one thing though. As the General and his troops were departing, he demanded that we leave this world as quickly as possible. He said something about the Mistress becoming angry if we remained. I just thought you should know, Lawton out."

Susan closed the connection and looked over at Melis. "It looks like your plans may be changing, doctor," she said, sounding more angry with herself than with the arrogant scientist. "It appears that the Arisians may not be friendly after all."

"I am sure there is some mistake," Melis replied with a thin smile on his lips. "Once one of our professional negotiators gets down there, then we will soon have an agreement that suits everyone."

"I am more concerned about what Jeanne might be planning at the moment," Susan said bitterly. "She said she wasn’t planning anything that would threaten Earth or the other worlds, but these new developments throw considerable doubt on those claims." She flicked a switch on the console in front of her. "Lt. Commander Schmitt, is the first squadron ready to depart."

"Ready to go, Captain," Alister Schmitt confirmed. "They are just waiting for your orders. The second squadron of Thunderbolts has also been armed and the pilots placed on standby."

"Good," Susan said. "Launch the first squadron. I want every square inch of the planet mapped for possible weapons emplacements as well as anything else that could be a threat. Keep the second squadron on standby for now, just in case they are needed."

"Roger that," Alister replied.

"What was that about, Captain Ivanova?" Melis demanded angrily. "You can’t be thinking of attacking this world. That will not do at all, I will contact Earth at once and stop this foolishness. I’m sure the president will see things my way."

"You will do such thing," Susan said angrily. "It is my job to protect Earth and this woman poses a very large potential threat to not just Earth, but all of the Alliance worlds."

"I think you are exaggerating the possible threat, Captain," Melis argued.

"No, she’s not," a soft, tired voice behind him suddenly interrupted.

"Major," Susan exclaimed in surprise. "Aren’t you supposed to be in isolation in the sickbay?"

"I was," Lily replied bitterly. "But the doc released me when he couldn’t find anything wrong, and sent me back to my quarters. I was supposed to get some rest, but I couldn’t sleep knowing that witch was still on the loose down there." Lily walked across to the railing overlooking the sunken bridge area. "I see she managed to convince you, though," she said, pointing towards the newly revealed surface of the world below. "I just hope you are prepared to stop her, Captain."

"Captain," Petrov suddenly called out. "Sensors have reported a launch from the planet’s surface."

"The war cruiser?" Susan asked, a cold feeling beginning to grip her.

"Petrov shook his head. "Not the cruiser, it is a lot smaller and came from an entirely different section of the planet. It could be a missile though."

"Order the pilots on the scouting mission to intercept," Susan began, before Petrov interrupted her again.

"I am also registering a massive energy buildup near the alien city," he informed her.

"On screen," Susan demanded.

The display quickly shifted to show the great crater where Jeanne’s palace was located. Around the edge of the crater were four of the energy collection towers, although unlike the others, these four hadn’t deployed into solar collectors. Instead their tips were now glowing with brilliant green energy. "Get us out of range at once," Susan shouted, suddenly realising what the towers were.

Before the helmsman could react though, four beams of energy shot out from the towers to collide above the palace. Then, another thinner beam of energy shot straight upwards, directly towards the Rasputin. Everyone braced themselves for the impact, but it never came, the beam missing the Rasputin by the narrowest of margins, impacting on the surface of the gas giant’s second moon behind them.

"I think that was a warning shot," Petrov said, his hands flying over his console. "Senors have reported that the towers have gone quiet again. I would say she was just letting us know what sort of defensive system she has down there."

"What about the missile?" Susan asked.

"It has settled into orbit just above the atmosphere. It appears to be some kind of sphere, possibly a communications satellite of some kind. No wait, it’s unfolding, just like those towers. I am registering four solar panels and a large weapons array. It looks like a defensive satellite of some kind."

"Can we destroy it?"

Petrov frowned. "It is possible," he said finally. "It is still inactive at the moment, probably waiting until it is charged by the suns light. However..."

"If we destroy it, Jeanne will destroy us with that weapon of hers," Susan finished. "In other words, we can’t do anything to stop her."

"We could send in ground troops," Petrov sad. "But I wouldn’t give them much of chance of success. Likewise an air attack on those towers, would bring the starfuries into range of that gun. I wouldn’t want to be one of the pilots trying to take on a weapon of that power."

"It appears she has won, then," Lily said, walking towards the door to the bridge. Just before leaving, she turned and looked back at Susan "I just hope you are willing to take the blame for what you have done, Captain. That woman is a manipulative psychopath who will do and say anything to get her own way. She convinced you to release her from her prison, and now she is free to work her evil charms on the entire galaxy. I hope you can live with the knowledge of what you have done."

 

* * *

 

It was a despondent collection of men and women who gathered in the Rasputin’s conference room early the next morning. Dawn was still an hour away back on Earth, but on Arias the sun was shining brightly, and the continued launch of new satellites went on. Nearly a hundred now dotted the skies above the jungle moon, an impregnable curtain of destruction, powerful enough to defeat an entire fleet of warships. Strangely though, not one of the satellites had yet activated, it was as if they were waiting for something.

"That’s number ninety seven," Petrov said, as yet another spherical object tore free of Arias’ gravity and gently settled into orbit above the planet. "If this keeps up, the entire planet is going to be surrounded by those satellites before the day is out."

"Have you found where are coming from yet?" Susan asked, in a dejected tone.

Petrov nodded. "An underground factory of some kind. We can’t get a close look, but have determined that each launch is separated by exactly ten minutes and twenty-seven seconds, indicating the system that is producing the satellites is probably automated."

"Can we destroy it?"

"I’m afraid not, Captain," Alister Schmitt answered. "The launch site is covered by that big gun at the top of the crater, and any attempt to approach would bring us into range. I am willing to give it a try if you order it, but my boys and girls aren’t keen on the idea, especially after they saw the trench that thing left in the side of the second moon."

Susan nodded. "I thought as much. It seems Earthdome agrees with you as well. Admiral Mellor has given us orders to withdraw from the system as soon as the Sturt has been recovered. IPX still wants to send in a negotiator, even more so after seeing those satellites, but the President has withdrawn her support for the idea."

"So they are all just going to sweep the whole planet under the rug then?" Petrov asked.

"Until there is some tangible threat, I think those were the Admiral’s exact words."

"They should be blowing this place apart with everything in the arsenal," Major Logan muttered. She stood away from the main table, watching the latest satellite arrive, her hand clasped behind her back and a grim expression on her pale face. "A few tactical nukes should blow away any problem."

"We can’t do that, Major," Susan reminded her. "There are still innocent civilians down there. Besides, there is still no proof that Jeanne means us any harm."

"Sounds to me like you are trying to convince yourself, Captain," Lily replied, trudging back to her seat and sitting down. "If she does muster some kind of fleet, and sets off to conquer other worlds, people are going to come looking for the person who set her free."

"That is enough, Major," Susan demanded coldly. She knew that Lily wasn’t saying anything that she hadn’t already thought herself, but she just didn’t like to hear it. "We have no proof that there are any other ships down there, apart from that war cruiser."

"We didn’t know they had that gun, or the satellite factory either," Petrov cautioned. "Who knows what secrets Arias is hiding beneath its rocky soil."

Susan nodded, realising that the Commander was speaking the truth. No-one knew what Jeanne had build in her eight hundred years on this world. In the same time on Earth, great empires had risen and fallen and the humanity had become a great starfaring race. She certainly hadn’t expected the great weapon that protected the city. Her team had walked straight past the four towers along the crater rim without noticing anything strange about them, yet they had turned out to be components of one of the most powerful weapons she had ever seen demonstrated. Certainly, it wasn’t as powerful as the Vorlon's planet killers, but anything that could reach out across the vastness of space and dig a trench three metres deep on another world was a weapon to be respected and feared.

The aprupt opening of the door into the conference room shook everyone out of their misery and all turned as an angry looking Dr. Melis entered. "Captain Ivanova," he almost shouted. "I have just heard that you have banned all flights to the surface. I was preparing to take a shuttle down to the alien city and begin negotiations with the alien leader. I demand to know why you have prevented this."

Susan looked at him, wondering for a moment if the IPX official wasn’t out of his mind. "Haven’t you seen what is going on out there?" she asked incredulously, waving a hand towards the wall.

Melis looked at the holographic screen that dominated the ceiling and walls of the conference room. Currently it displayed a close up view of one of the satellites, currently drifting in orbit next to the Rasputin. "I fail to see anything to be concerned about," he replied. "None of those satellites have threatened us directly, and I’m sure if they intended to injure us they would have done so by now."

"I think the blast from that cannon made it pretty clear we are not welcome here," Susan said. "It only just missed us, and I don’t think you are going to get any clearer indication of their intentions than that."

"I have dealt with hostile aliens before," Melis sneered. "All you need to do is offer them what they want, and they soon see things your way. I am sure a substantial offer of credits would smooth over relations."

"Somehow, Doctor, I don’t think Jeanne is going to be interested in your money."

"And you would be correct in that assumption, Captain Ivanova," a soft voice said, echoing around the conference room.

"Who said that?" Lily demanded, leaping out of her chair and scanning around the large room.

In response, all the holographic generators in the room winked out, along with the lights and several of the luminous consoles. Power to the systems returned a moment later, returning light to the room, but not the view of space outside the ship. Instead of that hologram, another had taken its place, this time the image of Jeanne.

Those who had seen her before, Susan and Major Logan, immediately noticed the changes that had occurred. Her hair was no longer dark, instead it had been replaced by delicate white-gold strands that seemed to shimmer down to her shoulders. Her fingernails, which had also been as black as coal, where now a gleaming gold in colour and her skin glowed with energy and light. Her extravagant white and pink gown was also gone, replaced by a simple white dress. Jeanne’s eyes were closed at the moment, her hands clasped before her like an innocent schoolgirl, but there was no mistaking the power in her body.

Even though she was thousands of kilometres away and her body was only being displayed through the conference room’s holographic system, she still radiated power and strength. Then she opened her eyes, and it was like looking into a blazing inferno. That impression didn’t last long though, as the light in her eyes faded to reveal ice-blue orbs that seemed to contain both wisdom and sadness. Jeanne looked around at those sitting at the table and for a moment they were all entranced, captured by the beauty of her appearance.

That fascination didn’t last long though as Lily leapt to her feet and rushed at Jeanne with a snarl on her face. She leapt at the hologram, passing straight through the image of light and landing in a heap on the far side of the room. Jeanne turned and regarded Lily’s crumbled, sobbing form with a tinge of regret showing on her face. "Why do you hate me so?" she asked softly. "I have not harmed you."

"What did you do to me?" Lily sobbed. "Why can’t I sleep like I used to?"

Jeanne looked sad, reaching down as if to comfort Lily, before realising that she was just a hologram. "I am sorry," she replied gently. "I thought I was saving your life. I did not realise what my blood would do to you."

"Your blood?" Susan asked.

Jeanne smiled faintly at her, before looking down at Lily with another brief expression of regret. "I used my blood to heal Major Logan. The effects were only temporary on my followers, but on her it seems to have been more permanent. I did not wish to cause her harm, only to save her life."

Lily pulled herself back to her feet. "Take your blood back. I don’t want it. I don’t want to live like this, never sleeping and always hungry. I want to be the way I was."

Jeanne turned away and walked towards the far end of the room. "I can not do that," she admitted sadly. "My blood has bonded with your body, you can not return to the being you were before. In your case. the effects seem to be permanent. I am so sorry."

"No!" Lily shouted. "You must be able to change me back. I don’t want to stay this way. You can build those satellites and that cannon, why can’t you change me back to the person I was before?"

Jeanne turned around to face her. "Because I never studied genetics," she replied. "I did not wish to do to others what the Vorlons did to me. I guess it is ironic the way things have turned out. You will just have to learn to live with who you have become, Major. Think of the advantages instead of the weaknesses."

"What has she become?" Susan demanded. "What did you do to her?"

"I do not know," Jeanne admitted. "She is not like me, but she is similar in some ways, and only time will tell which of her capabilities evolve and expand. But, I did not come here to discuss Major Logan."

"Let me guess," Susan said sarcastically. "You came here to tell us how everything that has happened over the past weeks was a mistake and how you are now going to welcome us with open arms."

"Fat chance," Lily muttered. She turned at looked at Petrov. "Can’t we shut down the hologram system and get rid of her?"

Petrov shook his. "I’m afraid not, Major," he replied. "All the systems have locked me out." 

Jeanne ignored the conversation between Lily and Petrov and moved across the room until she was standing near the middle of the table. "Not exactly, Captain," she replied, answering Susan’s earlier question. "I have come to inform you that you must leave this world before the day is out. My satellites are programmed to activate once the seeding is complete, so you have less than twelve hours to remove your ships from the vicinity of this world."

"What about the Sturt?" Petrov asked. "She is still down on the surface. We can’t leave without them."

Jeanne studied him for a second before replying. "I have determined that your other vessel can depart within the hour. It need not remain on this world any longer."

"We aren’t just going to let you get away with this," Susan promised her. "Earthforce will not stand by and watch if you extend your empire into other worlds. We will stop you."

Jeanne looked at her with one delicate eyebrow raised. "It appears that you still do not understand, Captain Ivanova," she said softly. "My empire, such as it was, ends here. When this day is out, it will cease to exist, and I will no longer rule this world."

"Excuse me," Melis suddenly interrupted. "Can I speak here for a moment?"

Jeanne turned and regarded him with a curious expression on her face. "Who are you?" she asked.

"I am Dr. Jack Melis," he replied proudly. "I wish to speak to you about possible trade between your world and..."

"It seems that you do not understand my question," Jeanne interrupted. "I did not ask for your name, that does not tell me anything. I asked who you were."

Melis looked confused for a second, before replying, "I am a representative of IPX, and have been authorised to offer a considerably generous financial settlement for access to your technology."

Jeanne considered his words. "IPX," she mused. "Interplanetary expeditions, exploring the past to create a better future."

"That’s us," Melis replied with a broad smile.

"You are not welcome on this world, Dr. Jack Melis, and neither are any of your kind. The people of this world are still young and innocent, they are not yet ready for contact with other races."

"But..."

"Do not argue," Jeanne said firmly. "I have already made my decision. You may leave this room, what is to be discussed here is not for the ears of one such as you. Begone."

"But, I..."

"I think you should leave, doctor," Susan urged him, feeling strangely relieved by the idea. "I will keep you up to date with what happens."

Melis hesitated, staring at the image of Jeanne in disbelief. When she looked back at him without any trace of a smile or other expression on her pale features, he finally muttered something to himself and left the room. When he was gone, she turned back to Susan. "Now, Captain," she began. "As I was saying before I was interrupted, you must depart this world as soon as you can. It is not just for your own good, but also for my followers."

"I don’t understand," Susan said.

"I don’t expect you to, Captain," Jeanne replied softly. "My motives must seem strange to you, but I am not like you any more. I operate on a different level from humanity, I see things that you do not. But do not feel bad, the Vorlons did not understand either. They thought they were right in following their great cause, but in the end they were just as flawed and evil as those they sought to defeat."

"And you know better do you?" Lily asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "You are right and they were wrong. Is that what you were about to say?"

"Perhaps, Major Logan," Jeanne replied. "But you will never know now. You may mistrust me if you wish, I can not prevent that, but please remain quiet for now. You may yell at me later if you wish, but I would like a chance to explain first."

"Go ahead," Lily said. "This should prove interesting."

Jeanne smiled at her and then walked over to examine a console mounted on the wall. Finally, she turned around and stared at Susan. "I have told you that the Vorlon imprisoned me because I threatened their plans, but I did not tell you the whole story. I did not lie, but I did not explain everything." She paused and tapped at something out of sight from the Rasputin’s crew, most likely a console in her throne room or from wherever her image was being projected. Whatever she was doing, it didn’t take long, and then she looked around at Susan and her crew. "What do you know of the Vorlon’s role in the galaxy?" she asked.

Being the only one in the room with anything more than a passing knowledge of the Vorlon race, Susan answered. "They were an ancient race, one of the first ones who stayed behind when the others left, so they could guide the younger races. They followed the principles of order and obedience, while the Shadows were beings of chaos and conflict."

"Very good, Captain," Jeanne said with a smile. "You are correct. The Vorlons were creatures of order, and their enemies, beings of chaos. Unfortunately both were so caught up in their own ideals that neither stopped to regard the third force in the argument."

"The truth," Susan said, remembering what John had said to the Vorlons at Coriana 6. Suddenly she stopped and her eyes opened wide in surprise. She examined Jeanne again, comparing the blonde woman with her memories from the battle. If Jeanne had been wearing a veil, she would be a splitting image of the projection the Vorlon had created when talking to Sheridan. Now that she thought about it, Jeanne’s voice was even similar, although it lacked the musical undertones the Vorlons had used.

"The truth?" Jeanne said, sounding faintly amused. "No, I was not speaking of the truth, that is all around you, all you need to do is open your eyes. No, I was speaking of the innocent. In their battles and causes, neither side paused to spare a moment to consider the innocents caught up in their wars. Untold billions have died over the millennia, just so two ancient races could play out their pathetically senseless battles. Eight hundred years ago, I saw this, and that is why the Vorlon left me here. I saw what they were doing to the other races of the galaxy and I meant to end it. I was going to return to Earth and raise a mighty army capable of driving both the Vorlons and the dark ones from this galaxy for good. When they realised this, they imprisoned me here, for they realised they could not kill me."

She paused in her speech and looked over at Susan with a faint smile on her face. "Now you have released me, Captain, and I am finally free to resume what I began so long ago."

"What is that?" Susan asked bitterly. "Bringing everyone under your banner so they will be protected and subservient, owing their lives to your generosity."

"You still don’t understand," Jeanne replied, her voice still as calm and collected as ever. "That is how the Vorlon thought, but we both know that does not work. The galaxy needs both order and chaos to survive. It is a balance, where both sides must exist and support each other for the galaxy to continue. Life is born out of chaos, but order provides the nourishment that allows it to grow and develop. You see, both are needed if life is to survive and flourish in all of its potential forms. Take the stars for example. They are objects of pure chaos, yet they provide the warmth that nourishes entire civilisations. On the other hand order is also needed to provide a guiding hand during any youth's formative development, and protect those who are not strong enough to look out for themselves. The older races like the Vorlons and the Shadows made the mistake of focussing totally on one part of the whole, and so were diminished by that decision."

"What does that have to do with you though?" Susan asked. "You cannot change what has already happened."

"True," Jeanne agreed. "But I can change the future. I have begun that task here with this world."

"With the satellites?"

Jeanne nodded. "That is correct. Each of those satellites has been programmed to recognise only the genetic structure of the Arisian race. My followers are still a young race, one open to exploitation and slavery. With this protection I have granted them, they will be free to develop at their own pace. When they are ready to leave this world, then I am also prepared for that eventuality. As soon as an Arisian comes within a hundred metres of one of the satellites, then they will all be deactivated, eventually falling back into the atmosphere. Until that time though, the people of this world will be safe from any who might wish to harm them or attempt to affect their development."

"But haven’t you already done that," Petrov noted. "They already have technology that you have provided them."

"Only a little," Jeanne replied. "That was necessary so that I could build the city and fortress that have kept me alive all these years. Much of what I have given them though, they do not understand. They are more advanced that they would have been, but not overly so."

"I still don’t understand the aim of all this," Susan said. "Why bother? What difference can you make? No matter what happens, the Arisians and all the other races are still going to turn out the same way. If all you do is create a defence system around their world, you aren’t going to change anything."

"Precisely, Captain," Jeanne said with a joyful expression. "You finally do understand. I do not want to change how a race turns out. I just want to ensure that they are free to exist at all. I want to give each of the developing races in this galaxy a chance of existence. I am going to give each developing world a network of satellites like the one on this world. Then it will be up to them how they end up. But no matter if they follow order or chaos, at least now they will get the chance to choose. It is not for me to guide them one way or the other, each race must make that choice for itself. Only then can they become all that are meant to be."

Susan looked at Jeanne in astonishment. "This is why the Vorlon imprisoned you?" she asked incredulously.

"Originally I thought the same as the Vorlons," Jeanne explained. "I believed that my destiny was to fight chaos, driving away evil with a sweep of my sword. This is what the Vorlon’s wanted me to do, but as they altered me, my feelings changed. I saw things that I could never have imagined as a child, and I realised that the Vorlon’s argument was flawed. They saw everything as black and white, good and evil, but things are not always that way. In my own mortal life I have seen evil men convert and change their way, becoming soldiers of good; and at the same time I witnessed those who were meant to be the upholders of goodness commit acts of evil. There is no such thing as pure good or pure evil. Everything is always a shade of grey. Even the Vorlon, the mighty upholders of all that was pure and good, committed acts of destruction and violence in the pursuit of their cause. I realised that no matter what principles you adhere to, you can never follow them all the time. So I choose not to follow one path, but instead follow my heart and let it take me where it wills. I saw before me a universe of suffering, where every side was being forced to follow one path or the other and I made the decision to give everyone who wanted it the choice. I have no doubt that some races on worlds I protect will die out, but if they do, it will be their destiny, not because some other race decides it."

"What do you get out of all this?" Lily cut in, sounding suspicious. "I find it hard to believe that you would do this without some personal gain."

"I would expect that from you, Major Logan," Jeanne said with a faint smile gracing her lips. "You are even more suspicious than Captain Ivanova. Unlike your Dr. Melis, I have no desire for wealth or possessions. None of those things mean anything to me any more. Instead I seek something to give my life meaning. When you have lived as long as I have, perhaps then you will understand. Now I must leave, as must you."

"Will we see you again?" Susan asked.

A flicker of a smile ran across Jeanne face. "I doubt it, Captain Ivanova," she replied. "You have your life of duty to your world, and I have my new life. Humanity is an old race now, developed and in charge of its own destiny. It needs no protection from me, and neither do the other worlds whose ships travel through this region of space. For now though, I must return to the world below. There is much work to do before I can depart, but you must leave soon, Captain Ivanova."

With that final comment, Jeanne’s glowing image winked out and the holographic projectors returned to their normal setting, displaying the region of space directly behind the warship. On the newly restored display, everyone in the conference room could see a trail of fire heading up from the planet, the exhausts of powerful fusion engines propelling the Sturt free of the atmosphere.

"It looks like she has made sure we have nothing to stick around for," Lily muttered, as soon as she noticed the Sturt’s arrival.

"Orders, Captain?" Petrov asked.

Susan hesitated, still trying to digest everything Jeanne had told them. Part of her was still suspicious, but another, larger part felt relieved that Jeanne’s intentions had turned out to be peaceful. Of course, a lot of races that made a living out of exploiting younger worlds would be upset, the Centauri came to mind here, but for some reason Susan felt comforted knowing that there was someone out there looking after those who were unable to protect themselves. In a way, what Jeanne had said made perfect sense, her logic irrefutable. 

"Captain?" Petrov asked again, looking concerned.

"Signal the Sturt, have them set a course for the Io jumpgate, Commander Petrov," she replied. "We will follow. Our mission here is complete."

"But, Captain..."

"The Sturt and her crew are safe, and there is no threat to Earth... well, no direct threat anyway. Mission complete! It’s time to go home."

 

* * *

 

Three hours later, the world of Arias began to diminish into the background, lost against the vast bulk of the huge gas giant behind it. Susan sat quietly in the conference room, sipping a mug of coffee and watching the world slowly vanish. Just to be safe, she had ordered the Rasputin to climb free of the gas giant's gravity well before attempting a jump to hyperspace. It was probably safe to make the jump ealier, but after everything else that had happened on this trip, she wanted to be sure.

Sitting in the chair next to her, Talia regarded a muffin with a suspicious stare, wondering if she dare eat another one. Finally she decided to allow herself a small guilty pleasure and placed the muffin on her plate, pushing the tray she had selected it from across to Susan. When Susan didn’t reach for it, Talia looked at her with a concerned expression on her face. "Are you all right?" she asked.

Susan nodded slowly. "I’m just thinking," she replied.

"About Jeanne again?"

"I was just wondering if I have done the right thing this time. There is still a possibility that she was lying again."

"Do you believe that, Susan?"

"Not really," Susan replied with a faint smile. "I’m probably just worrying for nothing. She was different this time, and I actually believed what she was saying. There was passion in her voice as if she believed in her words. I didn’t feel that when we talked to her on the planet. I still can’t help feel suspicious though."

Talia smiled and tapped the metal tray. "Have a muffin," she told Susan. "It will make you feel better."

Susan selected one of the remaining muffins from the tray and took a bite, suddenly realising that this was the first fresh food she had eaten in over a week. The ration bars and self-heating meals could provide nourishment, but they just couldn’t match something that had just been cooked. Once again, Susan was glad that this ship came with its own kitchen.

"Is that better?" Talia asked, sipping her hot tea.

"Much," Susan replied. "There is still something that is bothering me though."

"What is it this time?"

"Something I noticed about Jeanne. She is identical to the image the Vorlons used to represent them at Coriana, not just similar, but identical. Her voice is the same and the dress she was wearing today was even similar."

"So?"

"If the Vorlons were so afraid of her, why did they use her image?"

Talia raised an eyebrow, considering the question, before an answer quickly rose to the surface and she laughed. "That’s easy, Susan," she replied. "The Vorlons were telepathically projecting this image, right?"

Susan nodded. "I imagine so, I can’t think of any other way they would have done it."

"Well, to send an image telepathically, you usually have to seen the image before. It is a lot more difficult to make something up, so most telepaths usually select an image from their past, or from the past of the person they are scanning. I’m sure that the Vorlon could have made Sheridan see anything they desired, but why bother when they could just use Jeanne’s image. I think she must have caused quite an impression on them."

"Do you think I did the right thing?" Susan asked suddenly. "Do you think I should have just departed like that, leaving Jeanne free to carry out her plans?"

Talia laughed. "Susan, you have to stop worrying about what is done. You can’t change the past and it is obvious that nothing you did was going to change her mind. I think you did the right thing, and so should you."

"She going to cause trouble for a lot of companies back home, not just IPX, but all the other exploration companies."

"Nothing that the government shouldn’t already be doing. There are a lot of unscrupulous people out there, not just on Earth, but on all the alien worlds as well. In a way, it makes me glad that there is someone out there to look after the younger races."

"The Admiral’s going to ask some tough questions about what I did."

"Not many. You succeeded in every task he set you. You bought back the President’s nephew and the rest of the Sturt’s crew and - in a way - you have also helped out the entire Arisian race."

"I had a chat with Major Logan about him," Susan said, a faint smile finally beginning to creep over her face. "She had some very choice words to say about him."

Talia smiled in return. "So I heard," she said. "It’s good to see the Major back to her old self." She paused at looked up at the holographic screen, watching as the darkness of space vanished, to be replaced by the chaotic realm of hyperspace. Finally she turned back to Susan. "You needn’t worry about anything you did, Susan. You are still going to be a hero... again."

Susan grimaced. "There are going to be reporters, aren’t there?"

"For Nicolai Luchenko?" I would expect nothing less than ISN and probably four or five of the other networks. "Why? Are you considering turning around and heading back to Arias?"

"Not in this lifetime," Susan replied. "If this is the sort of thing that is going to happen on just one Vorlon world, I am going to stick to Earth Alliance territory from now on. As I said from the start, I hate rescue missions. If Mellor asks me to do anything like this again, I am going to hand him my resignation and tell him to get some other poor fool."

Talia laughed. "I agree," she said. "Anything is better than trudging through that swamp again."

Even Susan smiled at that comment. "It was rather awful, wasn’t it," she said. "It was good to be back on board the Rasputin after a week on Arias."

"Especially the showers."

Susan turned and stared lovingly at Talia. "Especially the showers, she agreed."

 

* * *

 

Back on Arias, Jeanne stood quietly near one of the throne room’s windows. A gentle breeze brushed against her face, ruffling her blonde hair and bringing a faint chill to her body. Overhead, in the night sky, a hundred or more tiny dots of light stood out against the background stars. The satellite network for Arias was nearly complete, ahead lay thousands of new worlds, each needing her protection. Before then though, she would need something, a new vessel to serve her. The cruiser was good enough for travelling across the galaxy, but to create a vast network of protective satellites, she needed something bigger, much bigger. For a moment she felt almost jealous of Susan and her crew. Their mission was over, but hers was just beginning.

 

* * *

THE END


End file.
